Community health workers are preparing to stage further protests across Cape Town this month as their campaign for permanent government employment continues.

Members of the National Union of Public Service and Allied Workers (NUPSAW) will join workers in demonstrations during October, calling on the Western Cape Department of Health and Wellness to employ them directly rather than through non-profit organisations.

The workers say their current employment arrangements leave them financially vulnerable, with stipends but no benefits such as medical aid and pension contributions.

“We are demanding to be permanently employed by the department of health,” said NUPSAW provincial organiser Jabu Khanyile.

Workers raise concerns over employment conditions

The latest protests follow a picket outside the Bishop Lavis Police Station last week, where about 50 union members and community health workers employed by The Caring Network gathered to highlight their demands.

The campaign follows earlier demonstrations in Bonteheuwel and a march to the Western Cape Provincial Legislature in April.

Community health workers provide frontline services in communities, helping residents access healthcare and supporting the delivery of essential health programmes. However, workers argue that their contribution should be recognised through more secure employment conditions and access to benefits.

Their concerns also include the challenges of delivering services in communities affected by gang violence.

Western Cape’s employment model under scrutiny

The employment dispute comes after a January 2025 Labour Court ruling that community health workers on recurring fixed-term contracts with health departments in other provinces should be regarded as permanent government employees.

However, according to reports, the Western Cape was excluded from the ruling because its community health workers are employed through non-profit organisations rather than directly by the provincial department.

NUPSAW maintains that the provincial department still has a responsibility to community health workers operating within the province’s healthcare system.

The Western Cape Department of Health and Wellness said in reports that it recognises and values the important contribution made by community health workers. However, the department has made no decision to permanently absorb them into the public service and continues to rely on its existing employment model involving non-profit organisations.

TygerBurger reached out to the department for comment on the planned protests and workers’ demands, but had not received a response at the time of publication.

Further demonstrations are expected across Cape Town during October as workers and the union continue campaigning for permanent public sector employment. The dates and locations of all planned protests have not yet been confirmed.

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