OSD strikers; possible censure in six months

Abstract

The 76 public sector doctors from Durban hospitals targeted by the Health Professions Council of South Africa, (HPCSA), for professional conduct enquiries after taking part in June’s salary strikes will know their fate only by the middle of next year.
This emerged in an Izindaba interview with Advocate Tshepo Boikanyo, the legal services manager at the HPCSA last month.
The HPCSA demanded written explanations from 16 doctors at Addington Hospital’s Paediatric Department, alleging they ‘refused to attend to life threatening emergencies’ during their strike in support of salary hike demands made during the Occupational Specific Dispensation, (OSD), wage negotiations.
Another 60 doctors working at six public sector hospital across the Ethekwini District (Greater Durban) received a similar letter, this time claiming an alleged ‘dereliction of duty’ in favour of striking.