Outsourcing may lead to more job cuts

ETHEKWINI District Health pharmacy employees are unsure about the security of their jobs after the Kwazulu-natal Department of Health outsourced the services of Medipost. The company will be responsible for pre-packing and dispensing of chronic medication from September. The outsourcing of pharmacy services is part of the government’s Central Chronic Medicine Dispensing and Distribution (CCMDD) programme which began in 2014 and is already operational in the Umgungundlovu, Amajuba and Umzinyathi districts. The programme aims to decrease the defaulting of medication often caused when patients are unable to travel to the nearest health centre to pick up their medication.“we were told in May that the pharmacy department will be shutting down at the end August. We are really worried because no one has addressed us on what will happen to us since Medipost will now be doing what we did,” said a pharmacy assistant who has worked for the department for more than a decade.

She is one of the 11 district pharmacy staff who are permanent. She is hoping to be relocated to another district. “I’ve been on contract for three years. It used to be renewed every six months; now it’s monthly. I was unemployed for a long time before getting this job and the thought of being jobless is giving me sleepless nights,” said another pharmacy worker.

Her colleague, who is also on contract, said even if they were offered an opportunity to relocate it would be difficult for her to move because of her children who are still in school.

“If the management was more upfront about what is really going on I could have negotiated that I’d be redeployed somewhere closer to home because I’m a single parent so there is no one to look after my children if I’m sent far away,” she explained.

She said her job as a pharmacy assistant not only supported her and her three children but also four of her younger siblings who live in Empangeni.

Claude Naicker, of the labour union Public Servants Association of SA, says they were still engaging the health department to try to save people’s jobs.

“As far as I’m aware, there are currently no funded posts anywhere in the province where they can absorb the staff and with the financial constraints the department is facing, I don’t see them creating any new posts,” he says.

The KZN Department of Health are yet to responded to the Sunday Tribunes questions on the matter.