Emergency service workers suspended for refusing to work overtime after they were not paid

Workers at the Gauteng Emergency Medical Services (EMS) have been suspended after refusing to work more than their 160-hour contracts.

The suspension is expected to last for one month and will affect 17 personnel from the Selby, Hillbrow, and Mofolo EMS bases.

The dispute centres around the EMS’s employee contracts, which require its staff to work 160 hours within a month, and its shift system.

The department operates on a 12-hour shift roster, which is four days on, four days off. This system often leaves EMS employees scheduled with additional working hours.

The suspended employees have said that this has resulted in them working an additional 20 to 25 hours per month, without being paid for the extra work.

As part of their suspension, the workers’ salaries have been reduced by up to R4,000 for “incomplete shifts worked”, equivalent to the overtime they refused to work.

The Gauteng Department of Health has reportedly instructed all EMS personnel to work the extra hours without additional remuneration.

Those who refuse are threatened with dismissals and a potential reporting to the Health Professions Council of South Africa for alleged “strike action”.

Three of the suspended employees face disciplinary hearings on charges of “gross insubordination” and “dereliction of duty”.

They argue that they have not abandoned any patients or failed to respond to emergencies, but declined to work extra hours without receiving more pay.

Member of the Gauteng Provincial Legislature, Madeleine Hicklin, said the suspension raised concerns about the potential impact on emergency medical services across the province.

“EMS personnel provide a critical, life-saving service where delays can have serious consequences,” Hicklin said.

“The alleged dispute must be resolved to prevent it from compromising EMS capacity, staff morale, or the delivery of patients’ emergency care.”

Hicklin called on the department to properly record and compensate EMS workers for any additional hours that they work.

“Instead of implementing disciplinary action on frontline emergency workers, the department should have corrected its rostering system,” Hicklin said.

“The 160-hour contractual limit should not be exceeded because of ineffective scheduling practices.”