News24 | 'It's going to be a bleak Easter weekend': Eastern Cape health dept fails to pay guards

Security guards at Livingstone Tertiary Hospital in Gqeberha and other hospitals and clinics in the Eastern Cape have not been paid after the Department of Health failed to pay contractors. (Thamsanqa Mbovane/GroundUp)

• The Eastern Cape Department of Health said it could not pay security guards this month.
• Last week, managers at Silver Solutions told hundreds of guards their salaries would be paid late this month.
• Private Sector Workers Trade Union spokesperson Malibongwe Kayiyana said the union would lodge a dispute at the CCMA.

Security companies contracted to the Eastern Cape Department of Health could not pay their employees this month, according to GroundUp.

The cash-strapped department has been in trouble with security contractors stationed at clinics and hospitals in the Eastern Cape since January.

Earlier this year, GroundUp reported Xhobani Security Services could not pay salaries.

The department owes Xhobani about R3 million.

Last week, managers at Silver Solutions told hundreds of security guards their salaries would be paid late this month.

The guards are stationed at clinics and hospitals in the Nelson Mandela Bay Municipality, Komani and Qonce.

READ | How a tenderpreneur ‘duped’ guards

GroundUp visited Korsten Primary Healthcare Clinic, which also houses the Livingstone Tertiary Hospital in Gqeberha.

Security guard Elbridge Swarts is a father of four and is worried about what will happen to his family over the long Easter weekend.

"My family is angry, and so am I… Why must I be nice?

"I must pay R1 200 rent per month, transport for this month, and one of my sons is staying in a hostel that needs to be paid too," he said.

"If I had been informed in time, I would have made arrangements… It's Easter weekend, and it's going to be a bleak one."

Department spokesperson Sizwe Kupelo told GroundUp payments to service providers, including the security companies, would start next month.

Private Sector Workers Trade Union spokesperson Malibongwe Kayiyana said the union would lodge a dispute with the department at the Commission for Conciliation, Mediation and Arbitration (CCMA).

He said the union would fight to have the guards paid before mid-April.

"There are about 1 000 guards at Eastern Cape government institutions that have not been paid. We are taking the department to the CCMA," Kayiyana added.