Premier Nomvula Mokonyane has again called on all South Africans to roll up their sleeves and join her this evening on her drive to assist facilities worst affected by the public service strike.
Mokonyane will trade her tailored suit for gloves and overalls to assist with laundry services at the Masakhane Laundry in Rosslyn.
She made her call this morning at the provincial legislature while addressing lawmakers on her government's performance in the first quarter of the current financial year.
Mokonyane said during her visit to various hospitals that were mostly affected by the strike yesterday, she was appalled by the shocking state of 53 premature babies who were left unattended when striking workers forced the nursing staff to leave their posts.
"We all respect the right for workers to strike but they must respect the constitutional right of babies to live," she said.
The premier reiterated her call for skilled volunteers to help offset the impact of the country wide public service strike.
She added that despite the lack of skilled volunteers there had been a good turnout of volunteers and further appealed to retired professionals such as nurses and teachers to assist where they can.
She appealed to strikers not to turn away patients on antiretroviral medication saying: "It is important for people living with HIV and AIDS to access their medication as it could be detrimental to their health for them not to access this medication," she said.
Mokonyane said there was an urgent need for volunteers to also assist with clinical waste.
"This is a specialised service so I would like to appeal to experts in this field to assist with this service," she said.
Source: Gauteng Provincial Government
Province
