Workers shut down the Fort Napier Medico Legal Mortuary in Pietermaritzburg on Monday and Tuesday, turning away families who had come to fetch the bodies of loved ones.
Workers have been on a go-slow for two weeks, demanding a wage increase and better working conditions.
On Monday workers barricaded the road, blocking the mortuary gates with mortuary vans. Families who had come to collect the bodies of their loved ones were turned away.
“We are not allowing anyone to come in,” said one worker who did not want to be named. “None of the bodies are getting out or inside”, he said.
He said the workers had waited for MEC for health Sibongiseni Dhlomo to respond to their demands on Friday but he had not done so.
“They say the matter is being dealt with on a national level. We have decided to shut down the mortuary. The department has to respond,” he said.
Workers’ demands include the repair of air conditioners, better equipment and back pay.
“The condi
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