29/08/2025
MEDIA STATEMENT
Independent Health and Allied Workers Union (IHAWU)
30 August 2025
IHAWU SLAMS GAUTENG COLLEGE OF NURSING FOR SELLING OUT NURSING STUDENTS AND PLAYING GAMES WITH THEIR FUTURE
The Independent Health and Allied Workers Union (IHAWU) is outraged by the reckless, incompetent and deceitful conduct of the Gauteng College of Nursing (GCoN), which has failed to submit the required documentation to the South African Nursing Council (SANC) for the registration of nursing students under Regulation 171 (R171), who started their studies in 2022 and completed in 2024.
Instead of producing the simple paperwork that would guarantee these graduates their rightful registration, GCoN chose to mislead students. First, they blamed SANC. When exposed, they shifted their story, claiming that SANC had returned files for “missing information.” They then made empty verbal promises that the matter was corrected — but refused to provide students with proof.
This is not just incompetence; it is a betrayal of students, their families, and the nation that desperately needs nurses in its hospitals and clinics.
According to the Nursing Act, 2005 (Act 33 of 2005), section 31(1)(a) is clear: No person may practise as a professional nurse unless registered. Section 32 places the duty on the training institution to ensure the proper submission of records. By failing to comply, GCoN has effectively blocked graduates who have worked, sacrificed and passed their course from entering the profession.
Now, because of GCoN’s negligence, the Gauteng Department of Health has withdrawn contracts and extended placement by six months. This has left students stranded, unemployed, and in limbo — after they gave years of service in training under brutal conditions.
This is nothing short of administrative sabotage and gross dereliction of duty. We call it what it is: a deliberate injustice against poor and working-class youth, many of whom are breadwinners in their families.
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IHAWU DEMANDS IMMEDIATE ACTION
1. The Gauteng Department of Health must intervene NOW and ensure all outstanding documents are submitted and processed by SANC, with written proof provided to each student.
2. GCoN and SANC must issue a public apology and commit in writing to a clear timeline for the registration of every affected graduate.
3. All affected students must be compensated for loss of income and opportunities caused by this incompetence.
4. Heads must roll — those responsible at GCoN must face disciplinary and legal consequences.
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IHAWU will not fold its arms while the dreams of the children of the working class are destroyed by bureaucrats who treat the future of nurses like it is a game. If there is no urgent redress, we will mobilise students, workers, and communities for mass action.
Nurses are the backbone of this collapsing health system. These young professionals have already sacrificed their blood and sweat. We will not allow them to be further humiliated and denied their future by a negligent institution.
The future of these nurses belongs to them — not to incompetent managers and corrupt officials.
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Issued by:
Independent Health and Allied Workers Union (IHAWU)
Media Contact:
IHAWU Spokesperson: Lerato Mthunzi
📞 Call: 065 823 0082
💬 WhatsApp: 067 196 7622
📧 Email: info@ihawu.org.za
🌍 Website: www.ihawu.org
A united, militant and democratic front of healthcare and allied workers, fearlessly defending the dignity, rights and wellbeing of those who serve at the heart of our health and social development department.
