Concerns are growing across South Africa over the treatment of public servants, as unions, healthcare professionals, and education activists speak out about deteriorating working conditions, staff shortages, and rising emotional and physical strain on frontline workers.
Public sector unions and advocacy groups have raised alarm over the systemic issues affecting essential services, particularly in health, education, and policing, where workers are increasingly overburdened and under-supported.
Speaking to VOC News, Claude Naiker, a representative of the Public Servants Association (PSA), emphasised the significant pressure on civil servants due to ongoing service delivery challenges.
“There’s a myriad of challenges, and it’s become almost cliché to label public servants as lazy or inefficient,” said Naiker.
“Since 2017, there’s been virtually no new employment in the public sector. Look at the police services or the education sector; we recently had marches in Cape Town and KZN. There’s a serious shortage of staff. One person is often doing the work of three to five people.”
Listen to the full interview with Claude below:
Head of Nursing at Groote Schuur Hospital, Aghmat Mohammad, noted similar concerns, warning that understaffing is reaching critical levels in public hospitals.
“We’ve been losing skilled professionals year after year due to budget constraints,” he said.
“There are not enough funds to hire doctors, and the existing staff are working harder than ever. On top of that, they are regularly faced with aggression from the public who don’t understand how stretched the system is.”
Mohammad added that many patients misuse emergency services due to a lack of access or awareness about appropriate care pathways, leading to friction and psychological strain on healthcare workers.
“People come to the emergency department with conditions that have existed for decades, issues that should be addressed by a GP or day hospital. When staff try to explain this, they’re met with aggression. It happens daily.”
Listen to the full interview with Aghmat below:
In the education sector, activist Hendrick Makaneta highlighted a different but equally concerning issue: the increasing indiscipline and disrespect among students, often exacerbated by challenging home situations.
“One of the biggest challenges is the ill-treatment of teachers by learners, especially in public schools in townships and other disadvantaged areas,” said Makaneta.
“Many children come from child-headed households and bring trauma and behavioural issues into the classroom. This includes bullying, drug use, and even gangsterism, all of which make effective teaching nearly impossible.”
Listen to the full interview with Hendrick below:
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