The recent incident, captured in the CCTV footage, has left the community in a state of shock and has sparked widespread concerns about safety in the area. The gravity of the incident has thrust occupational health and safety issues at the mortuary back into the spotlight.
The National Health and Allied Workers Union (NEHAWU) in the province has been vocal in demanding the immediate closure of the mortuary. Their main argument points to serious occupational health and safety concerns.
The union claims that the facility’s management blatantly ignored a 2022 report by the Department of Labour that flagged numerous safety issues.
NEHAWU’s regional secretary, Kabelo Maphike, points out that the Labour Department visited the mortuary in October 2022, giving the management 60 days to address the occupational health and safety issues.
However, a return visit in December revealed that no corrective actions had been taken. Workers at the mortuary have consistently complained about subpar working conditions, including persistent bad smells, a lack of protective clothing, inadequate cleaning equipment, and the mismanagement of unclaimed bodies.
During a recent visit by Lehari last weekend, it was discovered that there were 88 unclaimed bodies at the mortuary, which has a capacity of 120 bodies.
