Nalan Ramsumeran.
Durban - The family of Nalan Ramsumeran, 61, had to wait nine days to claim his body from a mortuary in Richmond.
This was due to the National Education, Health and Allied Workers Union’s (Nehawu) strike.
Ramsumeran, who was self-employed, was allegedly stabbed and killed during a robbery at a bar in Richmond.
The incident took place during the early hours of March 5.
Raymond Fortuin, Ramsumeran’s son-in-law, said: “He used to go to that bar all the time. He left the house on Saturday evening during load shedding which started at 11pm.
“On Sunday morning, after church, we heard unconfirmed reports that a body was found near the bar after a stabbing incident that occurred around 1.20am. The body was found two blocks from where he lived.
“When we realised my father-in-law had not returned home, we assumed the worst. The description of the clothes on the deceased also fitted with what he had been wearing. This is how we realised he was the one who had been killed.”
Fortuin said that on March 6, the family went to identify the body at Napierville Mortuary. It was also the day the Nehawu strike began.
“That day, I turned 39 but it was anything but a celebration. We came across a small group of workers from the mortuary who said they were embarking on a strike. They said they could not assist us as they were not working.
“This meant we couldn’t take his body or have his funeral. In Hindu tradition, a body is meant to be cremated within three days of death but we weren’t able to do that.
“We were told by the person in charge of the mortuary that we would have to come at a later stage when staff were back at work.
“I went there every day to find out if we could get his body. Finally, last Tuesday, the body was released to us.”
Nehawu returned to work after the Labour Appeal Court ruled that essential services workers were prohibited from engaging in disruptive industrial action.
Fortuin said the family decided to bury his father-in-law due to the long wait they had endured.
“We played the cards that we were dealt. As a family, we decided the best thing would be to bury him, even though he was a Hindu.”
He described Ramsumeran as a peaceful person.
“He was respected, well known and loved by his family. He regularly visited the temple and, on a few occasions, assisted with the maintenance of the temple he went to. He would have celebrated his 62nd birthday on March 26.”
Ntokozo Maphisa, the KZN head of communications for the Department of Health, said the strike had an impact which was felt most in Pietermaritzburg.
“The department was collecting information on those who didn’t go to work, to make decisions about how to handle the situation. The merits are, however, not the same.
“There are people who were blocked from coming to work even though they wanted to. We are working separately with those cases and are addressing them differently.
“Yes, there were delays across the board because of workers being intimidated by other workers. However, delays in relation to people being unable to get bodies from mortuaries happen under normal circumstances as well.
“In the case of Pietermaritzburg, we were able to transport most bodies to other mortuaries that were working. Of course, this was done on a case-by-case basis and we were unable to move everyone.”
Dr Joe Phaahla, the minister of health said: “There is no doubt that the strike has disrupted provision of essential health-care services in the country, leading to untold suffering and frustrations amongst the public who desperately needed health care and life-saving treatment and other interventions in the public health facilities.
“The court judgment concurs with the view that was always being held by the ministry and the department that essential services workers are prohibited from engaging in disruptive industrial action which is detrimental to health-care services with a risk of loss of life, as provided by the Labour Relations Act.
“We would like to apologise to all South Africans who have had pain, humiliation and suffering as a result of the strike.”
Ayanda Zulu, the secretary general of Nehawu in KZN, said there had been no reported incidents of intimidation or workers.
“We have said that there was no instruction from the leadership of Nehawu to do so. We are not able to speak on something we don’t know about.
“Workers took a conscious decision to embark on this strike as is their constitutional right.”
KP Naicker, the deputy chairperson of the Richmond Community Police Forum, said: “What happened to Mr Ramsumeran was unfortunate and isolated as he was accosted while walking home from the bar.
“Crime in our area has been drastically reduced since the formation of our security cluster a few months ago.”
Ramsumeran’s wife, Sheila, died in 2008. He is survived by three children, eight grandchildren and three great-grandchildren. His funeral took place at God’s Lighthouse Centre and he was buried at Richmond Cemetery.
IOL
Related Topics: