Over 15,000 nurses agitating in Zimbabwe for better working conditions have been sacked by the government for failing to call off their ongoing strike.
The government in a statement signed by its Vice president, Constantino Chiwenga said the action of the nurses was politically motivated and has nothing to do with their demand for better working conditions.
Chiwenga said “accordingly, government has decided, in the interest of patients and of saving lives, to discharge all the striking nurses with immediate effect. Further, government has now instructed the Health Services Board to speedily engage, as appropriate, all unemployed but trained nurses in the country. It has also authorised the board to recall retired nursing staff into the service.”
The government said it had taken this decision after agreeing on Monday to “released and transferred a sum of $17 114 446 into the account of the ministry of Health and Child Care for on-payment to the striking nurses.”
The Zimbabwe Nurses Association (Zina) on Tuesday said that the demands of its members were legitimate and not political.
Local media, Daily News quoted the president of the association, Simangaliso Mafa as saying that “Among some of our issues are the insufficiency of medical, surgical, human resources and equipment at health facilities.”
“We are also demanding a rationalisation in the discrepancies in allocation of allowances, rectification in the implementation of outstanding issues to do with advancement, re-grading, promotion procedures for nurses and failure by government to progressively engage with us following a position paper presented to it on April 4, this year,” Simangaliso Mafa added.
The nurses were earlier warned by the Health minister David Parirenyatwa of a possible sacking of they failed to return to work after government’s effort at resolving the crisis.
In a statement, Parirenyatwa had said that although the concerns of the nurses were genuine they had to consider government’s effort so far against “well-known economic challenges facing the nation”.
Source: Africafeeds.com
