Fired doctors wishing to get their jobs back must reapply,
the Government has said.
This comes as the Government has made moves to reopen Edith
Opperman Maternity Clinic in Mbare, Harare, to ease the plight of expecting
mothers.
The strike by doctors and council nurses had resulted in
hospitals and clinics closing, leaving pregnant women and people in serious
need of treatment stranded.
To date, 435 doctors have been fired for illegally
withdrawing their labour, with 43 more yet to appear before disciplinary
tribunals.
The reapplications are in line with the law and allow the
Government to revisit the doctors’ contracts, but it is not granted that
everyone will be reinstated.
The reapplication process does not affect parallel
negotiations between the Government, junior and senior doctors, which have
already yielded positive results, with some of them expressing willingness to
return to work.
Five hundred and twenty-three doctors were served with
charge letters following the strike which had gone past 77 days, as they continue
to press for US dollar pegged salaries.
Most of them failed to attend disciplinary hearings,
resulting in them being sacked in absentia.
Speaking during a Cabinet briefing in Harare yesterday,
Acting Information, Publicity and Broadcasting Services Minister Mangaliso
Ndlovu said: “Turning to hospital doctors, a total of 480 disciplinary cases
have so far been heard. An additional 149 doctors were found guilty and
discharged, bringing the cumulative total of the doctors discharged to 435.
“Cabinet was informed of a meeting which was held on 15th
November, 2019 between the Minister of Health and Child Care and
representatives from the Senior and Junior Doctors Association. While positive
strides were made at the meeting, with some doctors showing a willingness to
return to work, Cabinet has resolved that those doctors already discharged have
to apply for readmission. Government will not rescind its position on the fired
doctors.”
In relation to council nurses in Harare, Minister Ndlovu
said the situation at council clinics remained constrained, with only 70 out of
the expected 138 nurses reporting for duty at the six operational clinics.
He said to ease challenges faced by patients in accessing
healthcare, especially pregnant women, Government, in partnership with the
local authority, had made arrangements to reopen Edith Opperman Maternity
Clinic in Mbare.
“In order to ease the challenges associated with home-based
deliveries, the Minister of Health and Child Care has, in conjunction with
Harare City Council Health Department, facilitated the opening of Edith
Opperman Maternity Clinic,” said Minister Ndlovu.
“Nursing staff from Harare Hospital have been seconded to
the Edith Opperman Maternity Clinic, which is open for 24 hours. They will also
be working with three Sisters-in-Charge drawn from other City Council clinics.”
Minister Ndlovu said Cabinet was cognisant of an agreement
reached between the National Employment Council and the Nurses Trade Union for
a salary increment.
“The nurses are, therefore, expected to return to work
soon, but will not be paid for the days that they have not been reporting for
duty,” he said. “Disciplinary procedures for the striking nurses will
definitely be conducted according to the law.”
Regarding accommodation provision for health services
personnel, Minister Ndlovu said the Minister of National Housing and Social
Amenities informed Cabinet that his ministry was seized with a housing
programme to complement accommodation for health workers.
Junior doctors withdrew their labour on September 3 citing
incapacitation. Since then, junior, senior and some consultant doctors refused
to return to work, defying even a Labour Court ruling, which declared their
mass job action illegal.
This prompted the Health Services Board to institute
disciplinary tribunals against all the defiant doctors. The doctors remained
defiant as they failed to turn up for the tribunals, resulting in the dismissal
judgment being passed in absentia. Herald
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