News South African news
Another South African nurse was in critical condition Saturday after being attacked by striking workers in the third week of a devastating public sector boycott.
A nurse at Chris Hani Baragwanath Hospital in Soweto was rushed to Milpark private hospital Friday evening after being badly beaten by striking workers for turning up to work.
The nurse sustained serious head and neck injuries, a doctor at the hospital said.
The attack was the second of its kind on a nurse in the past 48 hours. On Thursday, a nurse had been stabbed at a hospital in the southern city of Pietermaritzburg.
Since around 1 million public servants went on strike on August 18 - closing schools countrywide and bringing hospitals to a near standstill - several non-striking teachers and nurses have been attacked or had their property damaged. One nurse was abducted by picketing workers on Monday and held for several hours before being released unharmed.
The government is offering the workers a 7.5-per-cent pay increase. The strikers are demanding 8.6 per cent. They also disagree on the amount of a housing allowance and other benefits.
