Court tells striking pathology workers to return to duties

STRIKING forensic pathology workers in Gauteng have to return to work after a court granted an interdict against the strike.

Forensic pathology officers‚ largely from the Germiston facility‚ were striking over a bonus dispute and alleged unfulfilled promises after their strike in June.

The striking employees are demanding payment of performance bonuses for the 2016 and 2017 financial years.

The Gauteng Department of Health applied for a court interdict on Thursday. The interdict was served on Friday and ordered officials to go back to work with immediate effect.

“This enabled the families who wanted to bury their loved ones over the weekend to do so‚” the department said in a statement.

DA Gauteng health spokesman Jack Bloom said previously that there were 65 bodies piled up at the Germiston mortuary because of the strike.

Bloom referred to the case of Naledzani Netshikulwe‚ who had contacted him.

Netshikulwe had been desperately trying to get the body of his nephew, who died on March 8.

“As a family we need to collect the body‚ do the death certificate and then book the burial sites‚ but we can’t without postmortem results‚” Netshikulwe said.

The striking forensic pathology workers are members of trade unions Denosa‚ Nehawu‚ PSA‚ Hospersa and Nupsaw. – TimesLIVE