Midwives, Nurses Overtime Case To Be Heard
Tsaone Basimanebotlhe | Monday December 16, 2019 16:09
Botswana Nurses Union president, Obonolo Rahube said if the employer is not willing to pay midwives and nurses overtime then workers should not do extra jobs. “According to the Employment Act 94, if one works excess hours he or she should be paid in terms of rest or money and it’s at the discretion of the employee. If they do not yield to that there will be no option but to approach the courts,” Rahube said. He further said at health posts and clinics, after 4:30pm, one nurse remains on duty. “This is whereby a nurse will be attending to all incoming patients after hours at times referring to the primary hospitals.
The nurse is at work starting from 7:30am through the night to the next morning for seven consecutive days.”
According to Rahube, the nurses surpass the 14 hours overtime per week as stipulated by Section 95 (7) of the Employment Act. He said both nurses and midwives have to be paid for their services beyond normal working hours.