Guards working for Ocean Dawn Security and stationed at the Church of Scotland hospital in uMsinga, northern KwaZulu-Natal, reported that they have not received their wages for two months. The company and the workers present conflicting versions of the situation.
One of the guards, who wished to remain anonymous for fear of reprisal, stated that the employees had not received any explanation regarding the payment delay. Furthermore, when they raised concerns, they were threatened with dismissal.
This employee noted: 'While we waited for the August salary, we received no feedback. When we asked why we weren't paid, we got no answers, and if we kept asking questions, we were threatened with being fired if we complained about everything.'
He added that sometimes workers only received a partial amount of the owed sum.
'We tried to boycott work hoping our complaints would be heard, but it yielded no results. The situation worsened as some of our colleagues were dismissed,' the guard said. 'This is a tactic used to intimidate us and stop complaints, despite the problems affecting our work.'
It is reported that over one hundred security staff were at the hospital awaiting payment on Thursday, the 15th. However, a payment order was entered on the 9th of this month, leaving the workers uncertain about which period it covered.
The guard could not determine whether this money related to the current month, the previous month, or covered debts from August.
Nathi Oliphant, a representative of the KwaZulu-Natal Department of Health, explained that the security for public hospitals is hired through contracting companies, which are responsible for paying their employees.
Oliphant stated: 'The Department does not pay the guards; the contracting companies pay them. The Department pays the companies according to the contract terms, and then the company pays the guards their salaries.'
Nevertheless, Sandile Nkosi from Ocean Dawn Security expressed surprise at these accusations, adding that the company was unaware of any complaints from its employees regarding unpaid wages.
Nkosi also reported that there were no disruptions in the security service at the hospital. He emphasized: 'If an employee has dissatisfaction with their salary or any other issue, they should contact us so we can hear their complaint and find a solution.'
He concluded: 'What we know is that salary delays sometimes happen, but we have never missed a salary payment to our employees, and we are unaware that the workers have not been paid.'