Zimbabwean nurses unions say their members would strike starting Monnday to protest at poor salaries and working conditions, the second walk-out by nurses since the COVID-19 pandemic began.
in a letter addressed to the Parirenyatwa Group of Hospitals, Zimbabwe Professional Nurses Union president Robert Chiduku said Nurses will not be able to turn up for duty starting on Monday June 20,”
The government and health workers are at an impasse over pay, as inflation in Zimbabwe jumped to 131.7% in May, a grim echo of the hyperinflation that wiped out everyone’s savings a decade ago.
Nurses in Zimbabwe are paid 30,000 Zimbabwe dollars ($79.37) a month, according to the union.
Enock Dongo, head of the Zimbabwe Nurses Association (Zina), said he was mobilizing members for the strike, but was waiting to hear a response from them before declaring that they would join in.
A strike would further cripple a health sector already understaffed by nurses leaving to work in the West.
Zimbabweans have been losing patience with President Emmerson Mnanagwa’s government, which has promised to end years of economic crisis that started under his predecessor Robert Mugabe.
The government blames Western sanctions on some of its officials for the economic crisis.
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