Nurses have gone on strike over salaries and working conditions, saying recent pay increases offered by the government have failed to address mounting financial pressures. The industrial action follows a protest about a month ago when nurses called for a substantial salary review to match rising living costs. Health workers say the government later introduced salary increases of between US$30 and US$40 but many have described the adjustment as inadequate.
A nurses’ representative said staff had decided to withdraw their labour after repeated attempts to engage with the authorities produced no meaningful results. “Since time immemorial we have tried to engage the employer in terms of salaries and other remuneration issues but the issues have not yet been addressed. “The nurses have come, have gathered here and even as an association we have tried to stop this but we have failed.
This is not political. It is about fair remuneration,” the representative said. The representative said the strike was a last resort as many nurses were struggling to survive on current wages.
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“We thought the employer was going to do something, but unfortunately up to today nothing has been done. Nurses are saying we are hungry and incapacitated. We are earning far below the poverty datum line,” he said. The Zimbabwe Nurses Association (ZINA) said government officials had previously promised salary improvements during negotiations.
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