Focus on working conditions, remuneration on International Nurses Day
The working conditions of nurses in South Africa were at the centre of this year’s International Nurses Day celebrations.
In Gauteng, celebrations were held at a small clinic in Sebokeng Zone 17 in the Vaal.
The province’s Health MEC Bandile Masuku and Deputy Health Minister Joe Phaahla were among the keynote speakers.
The Democratic Nursing Organisation of South Africa (Denosa) and other nursing unions have been calling for improved working conditions for nurses, including danger allowance, especially during the Covid-19 pandemic.
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Many nurses, especially those at clinics in far-flung areas and impoverished communities, are still without the necessary personal protective equipment.
"We need to increase and better reward and acknowledge nurses in our setting and it is important that we increase your numbers in terms of training, because that is the only way you will work better and conjunctively," said Masuku.
"When we celebrate this day you must know that you are our heroes and heroines. I think in this battle against this pandemic we can only survive if all of you, with us, are in front to fight and I am hoping that when we go forward we will recognize that you need to be paid better.”
Phaahla said there is no healthcare sector without nurses and thus their profession cannot be taken for granted.