Mortuary strike: a curse and a blessing
SITTING on the sidelines watching the unfortunate KZN mortuary strike unfold has been the most tormenting thing I have had to do lately.
Having spent almost 20 years in the Department of Health and believing I am an activist for social justice, I felt numb seeing people having to suffer the pain of not burying their loved ones, many of whom had horrid deaths. As always, I defaulted to using my laptop to express what I believe is at play. While many will view this as career limiting, it has to be said.
In my view, the strike is both a curse and a blessing. I know this may be open to many interpretations, some mischievous and others examples of proactive thinking fatigue.
The department, and the public sector as a whole, has to appreciate that times have changed and there needs to be modification in the way things are done.
The time when management is consumed with maintaining processes, disciplines and systems is over.
We are in an era when those from yesteryear still believe that their core function as managers is to keep the rules, whereas today we need leaders who are willing to break them, or at least find creative ways around them. Sir Richard Branson wrote in The
Virgin Way that leaders must have vision, creativity and the ability to influence others to follow and support them into uncharted and often risky territory.
The strike in mortuaries has been left to simmer for years to this breaking point. Accusing workers of disregarding the pain of bereaved families is disingenuous. As far back as 2015, workers have complained that the department doesn’t take them seriously. And every time they go on strike – as the only option for them to be heard – it is the families that suffer.
So, the strike is a clear demonstration that no one is listening. When I grew up, one of the best and most simple pieces of advice was from my mother: listen more than you talk.
If the department accorded sufficient time to listening to these workers who have repeatedly raised their concerns over years, we wouldn’t be where we are today.
You never know what you might learn from simply listening to the people around you, whether it is a mortuary attendant or a doctor in an operating theatre.
It was wrenching to read newspaper headlines on the arrested striking workers. It made me ask: what does the department regard as its greatest asset? Is it the services? According to Jack Welch, former chief executive of General Electric, the answer is the same for every business: your team.
Public servants are hardly ever told where they stand. So, when they have grievances or demands, they tend to hold back their labour power.
Clearly mortuary workers feel treated as lesser employees and disregarded by the department, which runs to courts and imprisons them.
When you want to inspire loyalty, you are essentially courting your employees. You need to paint a picture of how their future will be better if they work harder. “You want your employees to feel like they are part of the company,” Welch says.