Balancing the right to strike by public health care workers against the right of patients: lessons from abroad.

Abstract

The research will address the right to strike by public health care workers versus the fundamental right to access to health care. The objective of this research is to establish what the right to strike by health care workers entails. Furthermore, the research will establish how to balance the right to embark on a strike by health care workers and the right of patients to access health care. The goal of the research is not only to find remedies that will reduce strikes within the health sector in South Africa but to also to ensure that both the right to strike and the right to access health care are not violated. The research will focus on the labour laws of South Africa which regulate the right to strike. In this regard, the research will highlight not only the right to strike in terms of the Labour Relations Act 66 of 1995 and the Constitution of the Republic of South Africa, 1996, but also the international norms of such right as well as the substantive and procedural limitations. The research will further establish to what extent health care workers can exercise the right to strike. Such laws will be compared with laws of Canada and Australia in relation to the right to strike by health care workers and the right to access health care. The research will further discuss recommendations for curbing strikes within the health sector.