WHY ARE GAUTENG DOCTORS NOT BEING PAID OVERTIME?

6 February 2022

The Democratic Alliance condemns the Gauteng Health Department’s nonpayment of excess overtime to doctors.

This includes doctors at the Charlotte Maxeke Johannesburg Hospital who were short-paid R15 000 at the end of January. They have worked more than the 80-hour limit at a highly-stressed hospital, but the department does not seem to appreciate their efforts.

Every year in January there is a problem with overtime payments that the department does not seem able to fix.

Despite Premier David Makhura’s frequent promises to fix this department, it continues to waste money instead of paying staff and suppliers on time.

Financial management is so poor that 78% of suppliers are not paid within the required 30 days.

Meanwhile, there are 450 doctor posts that have not been filled despite the dire need for more doctors.

Effective intervention is long overdue to ensure that the department makes all its payments on time, rather than weak excuses for failure.

Statement issued by Jack Bloom MPL, DA Gauteng Shadow Health MEC, 6 February 2022