A devastating strike at Gauteng government mortuaries could be over on Friday‚ a union official said.

This comes after the National Health and Education & Allied Workers Union (Nehawu) and other health unions — negotiating on behalf of mortuary workers — reached an agreement with the provincial health government.

Nehawu spokesperson Khaya Xaba said the agreement was in principle for now and unions have gone back to consult the mortuary workers.

“We reached an agreement yesterday at the bargaining chamber (in Centurion) and we are consulting our members on that agreement for the rest of today. Then once we have completed the consultation process‚ we will then go back to the bargaining chamber and the health department tomorrow to sign the agreement if our members agree to it‚” said Xaba.

Xaba added that he didn’t foresee a total rejection on the agreements because their members had already agreed with the department on issues they had raised.

Mortuary staff and forensic pathologist officers downed tools three weeks ago‚ demanding better pay‚ recognition for out-of-scope work such as conducting autopies‚ danger allowance and occupation-specific dispensation (OSD) in order to cope with a new remuneration structure.

OSD would provide differentiated remuneration dispensations across the Gauteng public sector health service‚ cater for the unique needs of the different occupations‚ and prescribe grading structures and job profiles to eliminate inter-provincial variations.

The move resulted in bodies piling up‚ leaving distraught families frustrated‚ and unable to bury their loved ones.