Chairperson, the hon member from the ID is concerned about the action taken by the KwaZulu-Natal department of health firing doctors because of their stubborn involvement in an illegal strike. But, the hon member is conspicuously silent, in his concern, about the lives of innocent patients that have been severely compromised as a result of this action. Even Cosatu has really urged the doctors to accept government's proposal and go back to work.
I think what we need to do, in as much as we are concerned about the doctors who are on strike - because they probably do deserve good salaries - is be equally, perhaps even more, concerned about the lives of innocent patients lying in hospitals unattended to, because the said doctors are intransigent and unwilling to accept the offer that has been made.
I think government has demonstrated serious concern about the issues that the doctors have placed before it, but the fact of the matter is that you've got to come to an understanding that, in a negotiation situation you cannot get everything that you want, no matter how much the opposition may regard the offer made to the doctors as an insult.
The fact of the matter is that a good offer has been put forward. Government must now provide leadership and govern the country and act on behalf of the people who are lying in hospitals unattended to. Thank you. [Applause.]