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The National Education, Health and Allied Workers’ Union [NEHAWU] joins millions of social workers around the world in celebrating World Social Work Day, which is celebrated annually on the third Tuesday of March.

The day is used to recognise and promote the immense contribution of social workers in building better communities through providing social services and social justice in the world. As NEHAWU, we salute and pay homage to social workers, who continue to provide social services to vulnerable individuals, families, groups and communities for a socially just society. 

On World Social Work Day, it is important to highlight the role and contribution of social workers as agents of social transformation, development and social cohesion. Social workers play an important role in the transformation of our society through the provision of quality social services. These workers are at the coalface of assisting society’s most vulnerable people, and challenging and addressing the systemic and structural issues that have fostered high levels of inequality, poverty, and unemployment in our country.

Whilst it important to acknowledge and salutes all social workers for the valuable contribution in building our society, we should equally recognise that social workers are still confronted with numerous challenges every day in their line of work and these include amongst others; understaffing, lack of supportive infrastructure, and lack of working tools, amongst others. Hence as NEHAWU, we reaffirm our commitment to wage a relentless struggle for social workers and other social service professionals in general.

Lastly, as we celebrate this day, the national union reiterates its commitment to the struggle of social workers other social service professionals in general.

Issued by NEHAWU Secretariat