Funeral parlours have been hard hit by the public service strike and have had to postpone burials.

Thembelihle Nkambule of B3 Funeral Services said they have a had a problem collecting bodies since government mortuary staff went on strike last week.

"The problem begins with doctors who are not available to fill in documentation. Even if the bodies make it to the mortuary there are no people there to release them," Nkambule said.

There was also no one at Home Affairs to issue death certificates.

"We had to postpone a few funerals at the weekend because there was nothing we could do. Clients cannot claim from their insurance policies because they can't get death certificates

"If the strike does not end during the week we are going to have an even bigger problem. This is costing us a lot of money," Nkambule said.

The Rose Funeral Parlour owner Dingaan Thobela said besides being inconvenienced, they were losing a lot of money because of the strike.

"It costs a lots of money keeping a body while waiting for a death certificate," Thobela said. "We will end up having to charge our clients extra and that is money they have not budgeted for.

"It is difficult, the delays have affected us badly because we have to deal with frustrated clients and there is not much we can do."

Patients have being turned away at hospitals, with some even dying while waiting to be helped.

The Johannesburg labour court ruled last weekend that essential service workers should return to work with immediate effect, but the unions defied the order.

The unions are demanding a 8,6percent salary increase, while the government is offering 7percent.