Nurses, doctors, radiographers give notice to go on strike

Zimbabwe nurses, doctors and radiographers have told their employer, the government, that they are so incapacitated now, they will go on strike.

This was after a meeting held on 17 June 2022, at Parirenyatwa General Hospital.

In it, the groupings and associations of the medical practitioners said the strike action would kick off on Monday 20 June 2022.

Among issues raised were

Closed negotiation space: They say the last bipartite meeting held was in April 2021, and despite five written attempts to get a meeting with the employer, nothing had come of it.
Failure to provide a meaningful cost of living adjustment
Failure to review non-claimable health sector specific allowances.
Failure to review regrading system. The last review was in 2012.
Donor-funded nostro retention allowances. They ended in 2020
Failure to meaningfully and timeously review Covid-19 allowances. They currently sit at ZWL3000, ZWL4500 and ZWL7000.

Zimbabwe and its health workers have retained an attritional relationship predating the current administration. Rolling strikes have often lasted months.

Meanwhile, hundreds and thousands of healthcare practitioners have been moving to the United Kingdom to join that country’s National Health Service, leaving the question… Where next for Zimbabwe’s healthcare system?