Community health workers stage sit-in at MEC's office

Community health workers have taken their grievances to Gauteng Health MEC Gwen Ramokgopa‚ DA legislator Jack Bloom said.

Bloom‚ the DA Gauteng Shadow Health MEC‚ said the workers staged a sit-in on Thursday after some of them were paid late or discharged.

"Unpaid Community Health Workers (CHWs) are protesting their late pay and termination of contracts‚ including some who occupied Gauteng Health MEC Gwen Ramokgopa's office yesterday‚" Bloom said in a statement on Friday.

"According to a Facebook post by the Gauteng Community Health Care Forum‚ they are occupying MEC Ramokgopa's office 'to address the outstanding salaries and the demand of permanent employment'."

Police were called in to remove the protesters‚ Bloom said.

"I have been inundated by complaints from CHWs who have received the following message from SmartPurse‚ which the Gauteng Health Department has contracted to pay them: Dear CHW. Due to technical delays‚ you will receive your stipend by Monday the 5th March 2018. We apologise for any inconvenience caused.

"It is appalling that about 8‚000 CHWs were not paid their R2‚500 stipend in February‚ causing much misery to them and their families.

"CHWs do valuable work that includes providing home-based care‚ delivering medicines to house-bound patients‚ and going door-to-door to assess the health status of households."

Bloom urged officials to clarify the employment status of CHWs in order to avoid the suffering of many elderly and house-bound patients.