DOCTORS and nurses working in public health institutions will no longer be allowed to go on strike for an uninterrupted period spanning more than three days under proposed changes to the Health Services Act.
Amendments to the Act, which were gazetted on Friday, once
passed, will require healthcare providers to give two days’ notice in writing
before embarking on a collective job action.
In addition, all medical professionals will be required by
law to provide care to patients in a medical emergency or needing critical or
intensive care during a legal collective job action.
Any worker representative who incites or organises an
illegal job action could face up to three years in jail, under the changes
which are meant to bring back discipline into a profession that has been
plagued by illegal job actions in the past.
Chief director in the Ministry of Health and Child Care Dr
Maxwell Hove, said once passed, the law will allow health care workers to
strike for only three days per fortnight.
“Healthcare workers will not be able to go on strike for
more than three days and will stay at work for a minimum of two weeks before
the law allows them go on another three-day strike,” said Dr Hove.
“In each case no strike can go beyond three days and
emergencies will also be covered during every strike”.
The amendments seek to replace the Health Services Board
with an independent commission — the Health Services Commission — which will
among other things create grades in the health service and fix conditions of
service for doctors and nurses.
“Judicial Service Commission, Defence Forces Service
Commission and Police Service Commission are examples of Commissions whose
members are public officers but are not members of the Civil Service Commission
as per section 199 of the Constitution. “The same will apply to the Health
Service Commission under consideration,” added Dr Hove.
Crucially, the proposed changes will designate health care
workers as essential service providers as defined under the Labour Act.
The Labour Act designates any service whose interruption
endangers the life, personal safety or health of the whole or any part of the
public as an essential service.
Reads the Health Service Amendment Bill in part: “The
Health Service shall be deemed as an essential service referred to in section
65 (3) of the Constitution; and no collective job action whether lawful or
unlawful shall continue for an uninterrupted period of 72 hours or for more
than 72 hours in any given 14-day period; and notice of any collective job
action must be given in writing 48 hours prior to the commencement of such
collective job action.
“Any individual who is a member of the governing body of
any trade union or representative body of members of the Health Service which
incites or organises any job collective action contrary to subsection 2(b) or
(c) shall be guilty of an offence and liable to a fine not exceeding level 10
or to imprisonment for a period no exceeding three years or to both such fine
and such imprisonment.”
The Health Service Commission will be given powers to
discipline any medical worker found to be in contravention of the new
provisions.
The Commission can also report the offending member to
their relevant professional council in terms of the Health Professions Act.
Zimbabwe Nurses Association (Zina) president Mr Enoch Dongo
said there was a need for Government to consult health care professionals
before enacting the amendments.
“It is never the intention of health workers to withdraw
their labour, in fact it is the last option,” said Mr Dongo.
“So, it is important for Government to consult health
personnel when crafting such laws.” Senior Hospital Doctors Association (SHDA)
president Dr Shingai Nyaguse requested for questions in writing and did not
respond. Sunday Mail
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