Nurses Call Off Industrial Action

Financial Gazette (Harare)

18 July 2011

THE Harare chapter of the Zimbabwe Nurses Association (ZINA) has been forced to call off a proposed strike over poor salaries because the planned job action had not been sanctioned by its national executive.

ZINA’s Harare chapter was pressured to abandon the strike and allow for further dialogue between the national union leaders and government.

The chapter had planned to down tools next week to press for improved salaries and working conditions.

But it made an about turn after a crisis meeting held on Friday last week where a position paper was sent to government as part of broader negotiations between the health workers and government.

A document has since been dispatched to government outlining the heath workers’ grievances and demands.

Mugove Chipfurutse, the chairperson of ZINA Ha-rare Province, said the nurses had postponed the ind-ustrial action and were now waiting for gover-nment’s confirmation of the proposed civil servants salary hike.

He said no strike action would take place unless negotiations reached a deadlocked.

“We have agreed to meet with the Ministry of Health and give them our position. We need to further negotiate on the salaries. The proposed two week ultimatum was currently only for nurses in Harare province and other provinces were free to join,” he said.

Nurses are demanding a basic salary of US$500, excluding housing, transport and medical allowances. They also want the current night duty allowance of US$3,75 per night increased to at least US$5.

Presently nurses take home about US$218, including a housing allowance of US$44 and transport allowance of US$42, which is way below the poverty datum line currently estimated at US$502.

Nurses have embarked on industrial action before, crippling the health sector and leaving many patients stranded at hospitals and clinics throughtout Zimbabwe.

Since 2000, Zimbabwe has been suffering from brain drain as most civil servants including nurses have been migrating to other economically stable countries seeking greener pastures.

General civil servants are among the least paid workers in Zimbabwe. There has been widespread confusion over the proposed civil servants salary increments with the Minister of Public Service, Eliphas Mukono-weshuro, professing ignorance over the plan-ned increments for public workers.

Finance Minister Tendai Biti has also publicly stated that the government has no money for a salary increase for civil servants, saying an increment would cripple the economy and stoke inflationary fires.

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