Doctors have refused to return to work after the government
increased their allowances by a paltry $360.
The junior doctors went on strike a fortnight ago after the
government announced that it was increasing their salaries by less than 70%.
Dean Ndoro, the Zimbabwe Hospital Doctors’ Association
(ZHDA) vice-president, on Friday said they were pressing on with their job
boycott until their grievances were addressed.
“As long as we are incapacitated to carry out our duty we
will not report for work. It is government’s mandate to make sure that as part
of the essential services we are in much
capacity to do our work,” he sai.
On Thursday, ZDHA representatives stormed out of a health
services bipartite negotiation panel meeting organised by the Health Services
Board (HSB) after their employer indicated it was
only able to increase their allowances by $360.
“Our members did not have much patience in waiting to hear
the outcome of the meeting. Once the government was negotiating for the 30%
increment, they felt that it is an insult to us,”
Ndoro added.
“We are seeking to actually exit from this Apex and engage
the employer on a separate platform because we think we are being
ill-represented by this panel.”
Health minister Obadiah Moyo recently said government was
considering placing doctors on the essential services list comprising of
police, prison services and the army.
This would see the health practitioners only being allowed
to picket at their employer’s offices for a few hours without embarking on
full-blown strike action.
Moyo said the Health Services Amendment Bill was an effort
to rein in the “unprofessional” and “irresponsible” behaviour of the doctors.
“The Bill will ensure that while in collective bargaining,
job action will not be an indefinite exercise as it will endanger patients’
lives,”
However, the ZHDA has described the proposed law as
unconstitutional and vowed to challenge it. Standard
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