Johannesburg doctors strike cancelled

By Cindy Witten
23 June 2009

While doctors and nurses working at public hospitals across the country, continue to work in poor conditions, the battle over wage increases continues.

However, the planned state doctor’s strike in Johannesburg today has been called off. According to news reports, an intern at the Helen Joseph hospital said the logistics of moving all the patients out of the wards would have been difficult.

While the majority of doctors at the hospital voted to strike, the hospital’s management, which seems to be sympathetic to the strike, said they needed more time to prepare.

If the doctors at Helen Joseph hospital opted to go ahead with the planned strike, it would have put more pressure on non-striking doctors at the Johannesburg and Chris Hani-Baragwanath hospitals.

Negotiations over wage increases are reportedly underway.