The government yesterday intimidated health workers against going on strike starting today over poor wages and working conditions, with the minister responsible, Douglas Mombshora, accusing I of having a hidden agenda.
Health workers, through the Supreme Health Council, on Monday, gave the government a 48-hour notice to stop hearing aids to push for better wages in US dollars.
Yesterday, Mombeshura issued a veiled threat to health workers who intend to strike.
The Minister of Health and Child Care, in a statement to reporters on the sidelines of the meeting of the project to improve health services through the 5D-Kaizen-Total Quality Management approach, said that there will be no strike.
“Regarding the strike, I don’t think any health workers in Zimbabwe will participate in the strike,” Mombishura said.
“I heard that those who want to start want to start today, but nothing like that has happened.
“Those who have such intentions but have not had prior dialogue with us or the recently formed Health Services Commission should be working on a different agenda.”
Mombishura said they summoned the strike organizers and told them that they “can only go to work if they are looking for something else apart from social welfare issues.”
“They should come forward and tell us who they expect to resolve those other issues.” “I urge them to move forward and work on this together.”
Health Summit Council leader James Sibanda told NewsDay they have suspended the strike pending discussions with associations representing health workers.
“I can’t say yes or no in terms of going ahead with the strike, but we will hold an all-union meeting tomorrow (today) at 9am to see how we move from there,” Sibanda said.
The health sector has been severely affected by the mass exodus of doctors, nurses and other experienced staff in protest against poor salaries and working conditions.
The majority have left for the UK in recent years, with estimates putting the number at more than 3,000 since 2022.
In a notice to the Health Services Committee, the Health Summit Council said its members were living poor lives.
“Health workers are severely affected for the following reasons as already raised in the position paper: non-inclusion of health workers in wages and conditions of service, exclusion of health workers from the cost of living settlement in April 2023, failure to review the private health sector and say: ‘bonuses,’” they said. “Very low basic salaries, housing and transportation allowances that are now less than US$10 combined in the mainstream interbank market, and poor classification among health workers.”
In 2018, Vice President Constantino Chiwenga made international headlines after firing more than 15,000 striking nurses.
He was forced to retract the decision a few days later.
Chiwenga was accused of using “military-style tactics” to intimidate health workers and drop tools.
During his stay, the Ministry announced plans to prevent doctors and nurses from striking for more than three days under the proposed amendments to the Health Services Law.
Under the changes, worker representatives accused of inciting nurses and doctors to go on strike deemed illegal face prison time. Newsday
