Major victory as Zim nurses fired after strike all rehired

NURSES in Zimbabwe have scored a major victory, with the government hiring a number of unemployed nurses and reversing the dismissal letters of almost 6 000 other nurses who were fired after downing tools.

A fortnight ago 16 000 nurses in government institutions went on a strike that effectively crippled the health sector‚ resulting in VicePresident Constantino Chiwenga adopting a hard-line stance and deciding to dismiss them.

However‚ members of the Zimbabwe Nurses Association [Zina] in smaller towns broke ranks with their Harare counterparts and began reporting back for duty at the end of last week.

Yesterday the government accepted all the nurses back and it was business as usual again‚ despite a pending urgent court application by nurses challenging their dismissal.

“We are happy that nurses have been taken back unconditionally because their grievances are valid‚” said Zina’s secretary-general Enock Dongo.

A nurse said last week she had signed a dismissal letter‚ but when she returned to work she had signed a new contract and was now confused about what would happen to her pension. “What I don’t know is [whether] my benefits of 10 years’ service have been eroded or not‚” she said.

Dongo said hiring new nurses meant there was an increase in the staff complement at the countr y’s public health institutions, but that did not alter the fact that nurses needed to get what was due to them. “Even if there are numbers in hospital‚ it’s hopeless when it’s a demotivated lot with poor working conditions.”

Last year health minister Dr David Parirenyatwa said the current nurse staffing complement (16 000) was equal to levels in 1980 at independence when the country’s population was estimated to be a little over 7 million.

A 2012 census put the country’s population at 13 million. The Health Services Board said the government should effectively hire 8 000 more. – TimesLIVE

Even if there are numbers in hospitals it’s hopeless when they’re demotivated