Netcare proposes structural review within hospital division
“The statement made by DENOSA, a union for nurses only, that ‘hundreds’ of staff members will lose their jobs is somewhat misleading and confusing.”
ACCORDING to Ramasela Mokonyama, group employment relations manager at Netcare, it was confirmed on January 24 that the company recently issued a Section 189 notice that it will be embarking on a process of consultation on the proposed structural review within its hospital division. The notice was issued to both representative trade unions and employees in the hospital division who may be affected.
“While it is correct that 516 Netcare employees received a letter informing them of the company’s intention to review their conditions of employment, the vast majority of employees who received this notice will be consulted regarding proposed amendments to their current hours of work or current roles,” said Mokonyama.
“It is not envisaged the number of posts that are potentially redundant will exceed 0.7 per cent of the 20 000 people employed by Netcare and we are hopeful of securing suitable alternatives for those affected given that we experience a monthly staff turnover which is significantly higher than this figure.
“The notice follows a careful assessment by the company of the external influences including current and expected market conditions, and the hospital division’s current resourcing and business processes,” Mokonyama added.
“The process of engagement has only started, and Netcare and the representative trade unions have agreed to request CCMA facilitation of the consultation process.
“The statement made by DENOSA, a union for nurses only, that ‘hundreds’ of staff members will lose their jobs is somewhat misleading and confusing given that no nurses who are engaged in the provision of patient care are involved in the review, which is restricted to staff employed in other categories.
“Netcare and DENOSA also began annual salary negotiations this week. DENOSA’s initial demands for increases range from 10 per cent to 20 per cent, notwithstanding their reference to the inflation rate being 5.2 per cent,” Mokonyama concluded.
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