Dozens of employees of the Office of Health Standards Compliance (OHSC) picketed outside their workplace in Prinshof, Arcadia, in Pretoria on Tuesday, protesting against the decision taken by the employer to relocate their workplace to Centurion.
About 30 OHSC employees carrying placards and singing struggle songs were picketing and protesting outside the OHSC office building on Steve Biko Road.
The employees are protesting against the decision by the OHSC board to relocate their workplace in Arcadia to new offices in Centurion.
Union leaders joined protest
During their picket, some of the placards the employees were carrying read: “Listen to your workers or lose them.” Others wrote: “Spaza Shop management style at OHSC, We are not going to Centurion, Period!!!,” and “Forced to move, forced to struggle,” among others.
The employees picketed between 1pm and 2pm on Tuesday. They were joined by leaders from the Public Servants Association of South Africa (PSA) union.
Police were present during the picket and monitoring the situation.
PSA chief negotiator at OHSC Peter Mngomezulu told Sunday World that the relocation of the OHSC offices to Centurion will negatively affect the employees.
“We are demonstrating against the unfair and unilateral decision to move the office of the OHSC to Centurion. This was done through an irregular procurement process. Management has influenced this process for their own benefit. We are not happy in how the Centurion premises was chosen.
“The employees are going to suffer. They are going to incur a lot of costs going to Centurion. Most of the employees’ children are schooling here in the Pretoria CBD. If you take the employees to Centurion, the employees will be disadvantaged. This procurement process must start afresh. The OHSC must consult the union,” said Mngomezulu.
Relocation costly for staff
“The current building is suitable for inhabitation. There is nothing wrong with this building. When this procurement process started, the options for a new building was Hatfield, Menlyn, Arcadia and Pretoria CBD. Centurion was never an option. Management chose Centurion for their own narrow, selfish interests.
“Most of the OHSC managers live in Centurion and Midrand. They want to easily commute to the new building. The relocation to the new building will force employees to look for new homes in Centurion and this will be costly. The employees might even have to take their children out of school in the Pretoria CBD because of the relocation. There are no shops nearby at the new workplace in Centurion. Where are employees going to go to buy food for lunch,” said a fuming Mngomezulu.
Another OHSC employee spoke to Sunday World on condition of anonymity.
Can’t uproot children, families
“Most of us currently live in Mabopane, Soshanguve, Ga-Rankuwa, Hammanskraal and Pretoria CBD. It is financially affordable for us to commute from our homes around Pretoria to work.
“If the workplace relocates to Centurion, it will be expensive and costly for us to travel from our homes to work. Public transport expenses will be too much.”
The employees will be picketing outside their workplace in Arcadia everyday from June 17 to 30 2025 between 1pm and 2pm.
They also plan to March to Health Minister Dr Aaron Motsoaledi’s office in Pretoria on July 4. There they plan to hand over their memorandum of demands.
When contacted for comment shortly before 5pm, OHSC CEO Dr Siphiwe Mndaweni said she was about to go into a meeting. She said she will be able to give Sunday World a comment on Wednesday.
CEO promised to explain
Mndaweni told Sunday World to call her for comment at 2.30pm on Wednesday. This is because she has a meeting from 8.30am to 2pm on Wednesday.
Her comment will be added to the story once it is received.
The OHSC is an independent organisation created by the National Health Amendment Act (No. 12 of 2013) to promote and safeguard the health and safety of healthcare service users, or patients, in order to guarantee quality and safety in healthcare.
It safeguards and promotes the health and safety of patients receiving healthcare services. This it does by monitoring and enforcing adherence to the national health system’s standards and norms by health establishments. It also makes sure that complaints of non-compliance are considered, investigated and resolved. This they ensure it is done in a timely, cost-effective, and equitable manner.
