Zimbabwe Healthcare Workers Declare Two-Day Strike
Healthcare workers, encompassing nurses and doctors, are commencing a two-day strike due to inadequate wages, commencing on Thursday. This action comes after issuing a 48-hour ultimatum to the government on Monday, urging it to address their deteriorating compensation situation.
“The Health Apex panel has on numerous occasions written to the employer highlighting the plight of health workers. Sadly, to this day nothing has materialised,” reads the Health Apex team’s notification.
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The Health Apex team comprises a coalition of labor unions within the sector. They emphasize that health workers are significantly impacted by the lack of review in health sector-specific allowances, extremely low basic salaries, as well as inadequate housing and transport allowances, which now amount to less than US$10 combined at the prevailing interbank market rate.
“The health workers are formally giving a 48-hour written notice (from Monday the 26th of February 2024 to Wednesday the 28th of February 2024) for a collective job action in terms of section 16(2)(b) and (c) of the Health Services Act.
“The collective job action will commence on Thursday the 29th of February 2024 and end on Saturday the 2 of March 2024 if the grievances have not been addressed.”
Over the past ten years, numerous healthcare professionals have left Zimbabwe’s turbulent economy in search of better opportunities in Europe, America, New Zealand, and Australia.