Striking doctors in KwaZulu-Natal on Thursday embarked on a campaign to cajole their counterparts in other parts of the country to join them.
The strike over pay and working conditions started in KwaZulu-Natal four days ago and has crippled public health institutions in urban areas such as Durban and Pietermaritzburg.
Some doctors in other provinces had downed instruments.
Dr Shailendra Sham, one of the striking doctors, said he was in Cape Town on Thursday to mobilise other doctors to join the strike.
”I have just landed in Cape Town and other guys are in Gauteng to mobilise. We want to intensify the strike because we are not happy with the offer.”
While the Congress of South African Trade Unions welcomed the pay offer announced by Health Minister Aaron Motsoaledi on Wednesday, striking doctors in KwaZulu-Natal had rejected it and not returned to work.
”The strike continues because we are not happy with the offer,” said South African Registrars’ Association president Lebogang Phahladira.
The new packages would cost the government more than R1-billion and would be implemented from July 1, if accepted by the unions. — Sapa