Nurses at all council clinics in Zimbabwe’s capital Harare have abandoned work compounding the health crisis in the country.
The nurses declared strike on Monday citing incapacitation, according to local media reporting.
Harare city Health director Dr Prosper Chonzi told Herald Newspaper that the latest development was a big blow to health sector.
“As you know, most patients were now receiving treatment from clinics because of the current industrial action at central hospitals. This development will leave more patients stranded and with no alternatives to care,” said Dr Chonzi.
Doctors at government hospitals in Zimbabwe are already on strike for months over conditions of service.
Zimbabwe’s President, Emmerson Mnangagwa had alleged that external forces were behind the industrial action by the doctors.
Last month Mnangagwa said the government was aware that some doctors were working with external forces to destabilise the health sector.
“Two months ago, we raised their salaries and they came back again saying the value of the money had been eroded and we offered them a 30 percent increase which they rejected and we increased it to 60 percent which they rejected again,” he said.
The doctors have refused to go back to work despite a ruling by the Labour Court that their actions were illegal.
Source: Africafeeds.com