The National Education, Health and Allied Workers’ Union (NEHAWU) says it strongly opposes what it describes as attempts by “big capital and right-wing elements” to delay the implementation of the National Health Insurance (NHI) Act.
The Constitutional Court is currently hearing a challenge brought by the Board of Healthcare Funders and the Western Cape government, which questions whether the public consultation process on the Act met constitutional requirements.
NEHAWU says it remains firmly committed to the principle of universal health coverage and is mobilising support for the Act.
Parliamentary Officer Barry Mitchell said the union is not only defending the legislation but also what it represents for South Africa’s health system.
“It is the most transformative law passed since our 1994 democratic breakthrough. So we’re not just defending the law; we’re also defending the principle of universal health coverage and calling for its full implementation as a step towards dismantling the highly unequal two-tiered healthcare system that currently exists in South Africa,” said Mitchell.
He added that the union is mobilising members, workers, and communities to show solidarity at the Constitutional Court.
Mitchell also stressed that the NHI process had undergone extensive consultation over many years.
“The development of the Act has taken more than 20 years to reach the point where it was passed by the President,” he said, noting that it went through NEDLAC (National Economic Development and Labour Council) negotiations, parliamentary portfolio committees, and public hearings across all nine provinces.
He further pointed to national health summits and agreements involving multiple stakeholders, arguing that the process was “exhausted” through democratic structures.
“All of these entities, which we characterise as right-wing and big capital in South Africa, have now come together in a coalition to oppose the NHI. You can see the extent to which this was debated, discussed, and scrutinised. This is democracy,” Mitchell said.
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