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On Tuesday, 22 November 2022 workers called a national day of action after wage negotiations with the government came to halt.

Rural Health Advocacy Project (RHAP) is concerned about the impacts the workers' strike has on essential healthcare services. Healthcare services are already under strain therefore slight negative pressure on the system will be detrimental to the most venerable.

We do not object to workers expressing their right to strike. The concern is that workers have embarked on a day of action without a minimum service level agreement between the unions and the National Department of Health or Provincial Health Departments. Therefore essential health services are not guaranteed during the wage strike.

Russel Rensburg, Director of RHAP “ our mission is to promote protect and advance the right to health care of rural communities. Rural communities are completely reliant on public funded services and access to essential health care services would be severely compromised by a protracted strike.”

RHAP calls for negotiating parties to commit, in writing, to how they will protect the rights of patients to essential healthcare service delivery. Failure to do so will result in contravening people's constitutional right to healthcare.

Issued by Rural Health Advocacy Project