Cosatu calls for more health funding
|Published
Johannesburg - About 2 000 delegates to Cosatu’s Gauteng congress, representing half a million Cosatu-union members, have called for the government to increase its roll out of National Health Insurance (NHI) pilot projects.
And they will also demand the National Treasury says where the money for the long-term plan will come from.
“We have adopted all the socio-economic resolutions as submitted on various issues, and we have proposed how best to deal with those issues,” re-elected provincial secretary, Dumisani Dakile said Thursday night.
He said in Gauteng, all three NHI pilot projects were in Tshwane.
“And the point raised is that we need more. But there is serious resistance from private healthcare, they have even raised resources into how best they can resist and challenge the minister in court,” he said.
He said, despite sluggish economic growth across the globe, private healthcare was a sector which had doubled its profits.
“We must defend that issue of the NHI and government must increase its roll-out.
We must push the Treasury on how it is going to fund the NHI. Comrades from Nehawu we will need to convene another workshop, to process this thing and engage with the Gauteng MEC for Health, and bring the minister [Aaron Motsoaledi] on this matter,” Dakile said.
Meanwhile, the province also elected new leaders.
While the position of provincial secretary was uncontested and Dakile re-elected de facto, the province has a new chairman, Vusi Monyela, who is also chairman of the National Education Health and Allied Workers Union (Nehawu) in the province.
New deputy chairperson is Meisie Sikaledi, the Joburg regional chairwoman of SA Municipal Workers Union (Samwu), and provincial treasurer of nursing union, Denosa, Thabang Sonyati was elected Cosatu Gauteng treasurer.
The province also pledged its support for the ANC and plans to help in its campaign leading up to next year’s local government elections.
Dakile said, based on the provincial election results from last year, the ANC would have lost control of Tshwane and Joburg.
He called, also, on the public transport system in the province to be overhauled, and for Cosatu to be re-built, repositioned and united.
“We will continue with labour broking, youth wage subsidy and e-toll campaigns. We will continue to swell ranks of ANC and SACP… The alliance must develop an election campaign to address the struggles that affect our people,” Dakile said.
Labour Bureau