GOVERNMENT and striking doctors are now heading for
arbitration following the expiration of the 48-hour ultimatum given by the
Labour Court on Friday.
Addressing a Press conference in Harare yesterday, Health
and Child Care Minister Dr Obadiah Moyo said the Labour Court had a provision
for arbitration, which Government was now pursuing.
He said the process should be done within 14 days. “The
Labour Court ruling allows for arbitration; it makes life easy for everyone.
There will be an arbitrator who will be able to oversee negotiations.
“As part of that arbitration, we should be able to come up
with results,” said Dr Moyo. He said Government was still open for negotiations
and hoped that the arbitration process would break the deadlock.
“The process has to be completed within 14 days from the
ruling. “We had our team approaching the
court to ensure that the process takes place so this is the best form of
negotiation for both parties and I think within 14 days, this whole process
should have been completed,” said Dr Moyo.
For continuity of service provision, Government has made
provisional arrangements for patients to be seen at local authority health
facilities.
The arrangements include beefing up stocks and associated
support for the clinics to be able to attend to the overwhelming number of
patients, some of whom could have otherwise been treated at central hospitals.
Dr Moyo said Government had also extended the free blood
policy to local authority institutions for access by pregnant mothers in need
of it.
“We have planned that we will empower the hospitals
belonging to local authorities especially in Harare and Bulawayo and give them
as much support as possible because they are becoming overwhelmed,” said Dr
Moyo.
Speaking at the same occasion, Health Services Board (HSB)
chairperson Dr Paulinus Sikhosana said Government was hoping the junior doctors
were going to take heed of the court order and resume their duties.
Dr Sikhosana said the 60 percent adjustment recently
awarded by Government to health all workers will not reflect on today’s payslip
owing to some delays in the implementation process.
“By the time the adjustments were approved, the Salaries
Services Bureau (SSB) had already shut down their payroll for October.
“We were then advised to seek supplementary funding from
Treasury.
“The adjustment will however, be paid before the end of
October and will not reflect on tomorrow’s (today) payslip,” said Dr Sikhosana.
Meawhile, junior doctors in Bulawayo yesterday defied a
Labour Court ruling ordering them to return to work as their job action is
illegal.
Labour Court judge justice Rogers Manyangadze, sitting with
Justice Lawrence Murasi, last Friday ruled that junior doctors who have been on
strike since last month should return to work within 48 hours.
The doctors were expected to return to work yesterday
morning after the Health Services Board successfully challenged the legality of
their strike in court.
The court case came after parties involved in the Health
Service Bipartite negotiating panel had agreed to a 60 percent increment in
health sector specific allowances.
Junior doctors under the banner of Zimbabwe Hospital
Doctors Association did not report for duty worsening the plight of patients in
hospitals.
Mpilo Central Hospital clinical director Dr Solwayo Ngwenya
said only three doctors from those who had been on strike reported for duty
yesterday.
“Only three came today. On Friday we had 143 doctors now we
have 146 out of 204 so we now have 71 percent presence of doctors. Most of the
services are being rendered despite these ones being absent. It’s a difficult
situation,” said Dr Ngwenya.
United Bulawayo Hospitals (UBH) BH clinical director Dr
Narcisious Dzvanga said nothing had changed from last week.
“Talk to ZHDA because nothing has changed this side,” he
said.
The doctors’ organisation could not be reached immediately
but on Sunday ZHDA issued a statement saying its members will not go back to
work as they would appeal against the Labour Court ruling at the Supreme Court.
The doctors are now demanding their on-call allowance to be
reviewed monthly at the prevailing interbank rate.
“The ZHDA has tabled a proposal to have on-call allowances
reviewed monthly in accordance with the prevailing interbank rate. However, the
HSB has rejected this offer due to their inability to peg salaries in US
dollar.
“The ZHDA has requested that the HSB reconsider what viable
options exist that will not leave doctors in a continued state of
incapacitation and reflect a genuine appreciation for the prevailing economic
environment and the reality of the financial predicament that has left doctors
unable to offer their services,” reads their statement. Herald
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