Health activists make over 12,000 submissions on draft food labelling regulations

The proposed warning labels will clearly indicate when food is high in sugar, salt and fat or contains artificial sweeteners, but the sugar industry has warned against “demonising sugar” By Mary-Anne Gontsana Health activists at Community Media Trust and the Healthy Living Alliance (HEALA) have collected and submitted over 12,000 submissions on the health department’s draft Regulations Relating to the Labelling...

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Do I lose my UIF unemployment benefits if I claim sickness benefits?

The short answer Each time you claim benefits, the UIF cycle stops and then starts again when you return to work and resume paying UIF contributions. The whole question Dear Athalie I worked at a retail store from 2012 to 2022. I got sick in 2019 and was unable to work, so I claimed sickness benefits for three months. After I got dismissed...

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Court dismisses MEC’s attempt to quash inquiry into her “killing my health system” remark

“The holding of political office and remaining registered as a medical practitioner are not mutually exclusive” says judge By Tania Broughton Last year in a widely circulated video, Limpopo Health MEC Dr Pophi Ramathuba told a hospitalised Zimbabwean patient: “You are killing my health system. It’s unfair.” A preliminary committee of the Health Professions Council of South Africa (HPCSA) found that...

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Asylum seeker appeals hospital decision to stop dialysis

Alem Bazabe Ereselo was deemed ineligible for a kidney transplant because of her refugee status By Muchengeti Hwacha On 11 October the Johannesburg High Court handed down a judgment upholding a decision by Helen Joseph Hospital to discontinue life-saving dialysis treatment for an asylum seeker. Lawyers for the asylum seeker are preparing an appeal. Alem Bazabe Ereselo arrived in South Africa in 2010, fleeing political...

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Community healthcare workers demand recognition as public servants

Frontline health workers in Western Cape subjected to “unjustifiable, irresponsible and unfair treatment”, says union By Vincent Lali About 200 community health workers marched to the Western Cape Health Department in Cape Town on Tuesday. The National Union of Public Service and Allied Workers (NUPSAW) organised the protest. In a memorandum NUPSAW said the national health department had committed to integrating community health workers. The...

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