Zimbabwe Junior Doctors’ Strike Still On
October 29, 2014
THE strike by the junior doctors at State hospitals entered its second day yesterday with no solution in sight after their salary negotiations with the Health Services Board (HSB) and the Ministry of Finance ended in a deadlock.
FELUNA NLEYA
STAFF REPORTER
About 400 junior doctors at all public hospitals countrywide downed tools on Monday demanding a salary review and a general review of their working conditions.
Health minister David Parirenyatwa, his deputy Paul Chimedza, Deputy Finance minister Samuel Undenge and representatives of the Medical Services Board met representatives of the Zimbabwe Hospital Doctors’ Association (ZHDA) in the capital yesterday to map the way forward, but the meeting ended in a deadlock.
ZHDA secretary-general Farai Makoni said: “Our response to their call to end the strike was that we have to update our members on what they have offered so far.”
Makoni added: “It is only in that meeting where we shall decide the course of the industrial action after engaging all our members, and we shall send a communiqué to the minister on the position we would have adopted.”
Addressing journalists after the meeting yesterday, Parirenyatwa urged both parties to continue with the negotiations to resolve the impasse.
“The HSB were the ones who were key at the meeting with the junior doctors of whom some have withdrawn their labour,” Parirenyatwa said.
“The whole idea was for negotiations to continue and we are hopeful that things will turn out for the good especially for our patients so that the hospitals can function again.”
The junior doctors are demanding that their salaries be reviewed from the current $282 a month to a minimum of $1 200 excluding allowances.
They also want their on-call allowances to be raised as they said they were getting only $0,50 per hour.
They are also demanding free accommodation in government-owned flats.
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| Zimbabwe junior doctors' strike continues. |
THE strike by the junior doctors at State hospitals entered its second day yesterday with no solution in sight after their salary negotiations with the Health Services Board (HSB) and the Ministry of Finance ended in a deadlock.
FELUNA NLEYA
STAFF REPORTER
About 400 junior doctors at all public hospitals countrywide downed tools on Monday demanding a salary review and a general review of their working conditions.
Health minister David Parirenyatwa, his deputy Paul Chimedza, Deputy Finance minister Samuel Undenge and representatives of the Medical Services Board met representatives of the Zimbabwe Hospital Doctors’ Association (ZHDA) in the capital yesterday to map the way forward, but the meeting ended in a deadlock.
ZHDA secretary-general Farai Makoni said: “Our response to their call to end the strike was that we have to update our members on what they have offered so far.”
Makoni added: “It is only in that meeting where we shall decide the course of the industrial action after engaging all our members, and we shall send a communiqué to the minister on the position we would have adopted.”
Addressing journalists after the meeting yesterday, Parirenyatwa urged both parties to continue with the negotiations to resolve the impasse.
“The HSB were the ones who were key at the meeting with the junior doctors of whom some have withdrawn their labour,” Parirenyatwa said.
“The whole idea was for negotiations to continue and we are hopeful that things will turn out for the good especially for our patients so that the hospitals can function again.”
The junior doctors are demanding that their salaries be reviewed from the current $282 a month to a minimum of $1 200 excluding allowances.
They also want their on-call allowances to be raised as they said they were getting only $0,50 per hour.
They are also demanding free accommodation in government-owned flats.
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