The Labour Appeal Court on Monday, 13 March interdicted any further strike action from Nehawu, pending further legal action. In a hard-hitting judgment, the court ordered the Cosatu-affiliated union to make sure its members know about the interdict or face legal consequences. Nehawu agreed to suspend the strike for 72 hours to consult, though also stated they have a mandate to appeal this order. The SANDF has also confirmed that the army medical corps would be deployed to hospitals in crisis.

The court ordered that the union will be held responsible if word of the national interdict is not sufficiently distributed among its members. Several provincial interdicts are already in place. The South African Defence Force also confirmed that the army medical corps would be deployed to hospitals in crisis, after the National Department of Health asked for help, as hospitals are left with skeleton staff due to the ongoing Nehawu strike.

After delivering a scathing ruling against Nehawu and police inaction to stop the violence associated with the strike, the Labour Appeal Court this morning interdicted the ongoing public service strike until the finalisation of further legal proceedings.

The order allows for an interdict obtained by the government to…