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I welcome the announcement by NEHAWU suspending the strike by more than 5000 workers at the National Health Laboratory Services (NHLS).

This is after agreement was reached on a 7.3% wage hike and the phasing out of the outsourcing of workers.

The major challenge now is to cut the huge backlog of medical tests that has built up since the strike started on Wednesday last week.

Many thousands of patients at Gauteng hospitals and clinics will have to be contacted to have tests that were cancelled because of the strike.

The Gauteng Health Department should pay up what it is owing for the tests, otherwise the NHLS will run out of money to pay salaries in November this year. According to Acting NHLS CEO Shabir Madhi, the Department owes more than R2 billion dating back many years, and has only paid two-thirds of their monthly payment of R154 million since 1 April this year.

Continuing underpayment by the Department will result in a further debt of R600 million in this financial year.

Management problems at the NHLS also need to be fixed speedily to avoid another crisis that will hurt patients.

Issued by DA