GOVERNMENT has resolved to deploy military medical
personnel at all State hospitals to avoid disruptions caused by striking
civilian nurses and doctors.
The move, which is widely viewed as Vice-President
Constantino Chiwenga’s attempts to militarise hospitals in order to deal with
striking health personnel, comes at a time the Health ministry announced that
there were no vacant posts for doctors at government hospitals and, therefore,
graduates seeking employment should consider joining the army and the Zimbabwe
Republic Police as clinicians.
In a post-Cabinet media briefing yesterday, Information
minister Monica Mutsvangwa said government would now replace striking nurses
with medical professionals from uniformed forces.
“Government resolved that nursing services be restructured
to be supported by three pillars namely contract workers, health services
permanent workers and secondment from the uniformed forces,” Mutsvangwa said.
“Cabinet was briefed by VP Chiwenga, as the Minister of Health and Child Care, on the withdrawal of labour by nurses. At its 38th meeting held on October 28, 2020, Cabinet was informed that the Zimbabwe Nurses Association (Zina) openly challenged the Cabinet decision on the cancellation of the flexi-working arrangement and defied the secretary for Health and Child Care directive for the association to reverse its statement.
“Cabinet resolved to cancel the flexi hours arrangement and
that nurses who fail to report for duty be subjected to disciplinary processes,
that daily attendance registers for nurses be submitted to the Health Service
Board (HSB) and the Ministry of Health and Child Care head office, and that
nursing services be restructured to be supported by three pillars, namely
contract workers, health service permanent workers, and secondment from the
uniformed forces,” she said.
Mutsvangwa said some nurses had continued to defy the
government directive banning the flexi hours regime.
“The various nurses’ labour organisations comprising the
Zimbabwe Nurses Association, Confederation of Nurses Association, Theatre
Nurses Association and the Nurses Educators Association met with the Health
Services Board and resolved to comply with the government directive, save for
the Zimbabwe Nurses Association. A total of 1 280 nurses failed to heed to the
call to return to normal working hours,” she said.
As a result, Mutsvangwa said the HSB has started
instituting disciplinary hearings for the defiant nurses. Nurses have been
engaged in strike action since 2018 demanding a living wage.
Their job action was followed by a strike by doctors who
demanded an improvement in wages, conditions of service, as well as equipment
and other medical materials to ensure safety while performing their duties.
Chiwenga was in September deployed by President Emmerson
Mnangagwa to take over from fired former Health minister Obadiah Moyo.
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