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The United Eastern Cape Community Health Care Workers want an answer to their demand for permanent employment

The United Eastern Cape Community Health Care Workers want an answer to their demand for permanent employment

Press Statement. 14 July 2029

On Monday 06 July The United Eastern Cape Community Health Care Workers together with other Civic organizations handed over a Memorandum to the Eastern Cape Health Department. We delivered this memorandum to SG Thobile Mbengashe demanding amongst other things permanent employment for all community healthcare workers. 

However, after all this, no one was there to receive the memorandum including MEC Sindiswa Gomba. Until we as United CHWs were adamant and clear that we will occupy the offices EC DoH until they come to receive our memorandum. After we as United Community Health Care workers arrived there at 08:00 am, SG Mbengashe came to receive the memorandum at 5pm, this after by the way the United Health Care workers promised to occupy those offices until they come receive our memorandum.

Hamba Kahle Tembinkosi Qondela

Thembinkosi Qondela, a longstanding socialist activist, died this week due to COVID-19 related complications. He was a lifelong activist for social justice. Not many people who knew him realise that he worked on the mines for a year in the early 1990s where he came to understand the need to defend workers’ rights and the importance of health and safety at work. That experience, along with others might have been the spark to turn on his calling to make justice, equity and worker’s rights a reality. After moving to Cape Town, he became involved in various progressive socialist organisations, including serving as Assistant Regional Secretary for the Western Cape Unemployed Workers Movement, part-time assistant librarian at both Khanya College and the Trade Union Library and Education Centre, and as Resource Coordinator and then Assistant Researcher at the International Labour Research and Information Group (ILRIG).