Livingstone Hospital managers' legal fight continues

The Livingstone Hospital management team are considering their legal options after the department of health informed the management’s attorney they are not to return to work for now.

Chris Unwin from Kaplan Blumberg Attorneys said his clients were informed by the department that a ruling by the bargaining council allowing them to return to work from Monday, will not be implemented.

The department is challenging the ruling and has six weeks to file papers with the Labour Court.

Labour unions at Livingstone Hospital suspended plans to strike on Monday after the health department assured them the hospital’s management team would not be allowed to return to work.

Eastern Cape health department spokesperson Lwandile Sicwetsha confirmed the department had received a notice from the unions that they would will go on strike, but it did not materialise.

Earlier in February, the Public Health and Social Development Sectoral Bargaining Council ordered that six members of the hospital’s seven-member management team return to work.

And the six officials must be paid six months’ salary – a total of R3.65m – in damages for being irregularly suspended.

The management team was suspended amid allegations of misconduct.In his ruling, commissioner Clarence Randall questioned why the provincial health department had allowed the suspensions to continue for so long and why it had failed to provide any details of its investigation into the unions’ allegations against the managers.

The entire management team was suspended in November after workers embarked on a violent strike at the hospital, demanding their removal.

Randall ruled at the arbitration hearing that the suspensions of Livingstone CEO Thulane Madonsela, human resources director Victor Tobo, finance director Michael Byrnes, nursing services manager Ronel du Preez, medical services senior manager Dr Mojalefa Maseloa and manager for soft services – including hospital security – Mcebisi Gcotana, were more punitive than precautionary.

A seventh manager who was suspended – information technology head Ullyndyss Maloy – did not join his colleagues in the dispute lodged with the bargaining council as he is represented by a union.

Following the ruling, unions have threatened a renewed strike but backed down on Monday.

Nehawu provincial secretary Miki Jaceni confirmed the strike had been called off.

“We have now come to realise that the department will challenge the outcome of the hearing. So those managers will not be coming back for now,” he said.

Khaya Sodidi, from the Democratic Nursing Organisation of South Africa (Denosa), agreed with Nehawu.