HARARE – Proposed amendments to the Health Services Act which will ban nurses and doctors from going on strike indefinitely, and impose jail time for agitating for strikes, have been condemned as “oppressive” by unions.
The planned amendments were published in the Government Gazette on Friday and have now been sent to parliament.
Health workers must give two days’ notice before a strike, and they can only be on strike for three days following which they should wait two weeks before calling another industrial action, the law changes will decree.
Doctors and nurses will also be obligated to treat patients in medical emergencies while on strike, the amendments say.
Unions leaders who “incite” or “organise” strikes deemed illegal face jail time of up to three years.
The country’s biggest nurses union on Monday said withdrawing health workers’ right to take industrial action was a draconian step.
“It’s nonsense at it’s highest level,” Zimbabwe Nurses Association secretary Enoch Dongo told ZimLive. “Instead of improving health workers’ conditions of service, they are busy crafting oppressive laws. It’s a sign of failure by the health ministry.”
President Emmerson Mnanagwa’s government has faced several strikes by health workers in the last two years as they demand to be paid United States-dollar salaries, but authorities say they are unable to do so.
The strikes crippled public hospitals, with non-emergency patients turned away and some babies stillborn due to lack of adequate medical care.
The main opposition MDC Alliance said the planned law changes would demoralise health workers who are on the frontline against Covid-19.
“It’s a matter of regret that, in the midst of a global pandemic and at a time when other progressive nations are implementing policies that raise the motivation and improve the welfare of health workers, the regime in Harare is focused on stifling the constitutional freedoms of health workers,” MDC Alliance spokesperson Fadzayi Mahere charged.
“It’s not a crime to demand decent working conditions and a living wage. An MDC Alliance government would take this opportunity to improve the capacity of hospitals, ensure all medical facilities are well-equipped and ensure that doctors and nurses are paid competitive wages.
“This is also the time when the government’s energies should be spent on boosting our vaccination capacity and driving scientific research into Covid-19 and other public health priorities. It is not the time to be declaring war against the profession that is at the frontline of keeping us all safe.”
The amendments to the Health Services Act will also see the formation of an independent commission to run the sector – the Heath Services Commission – which will replace the Health Services Board. It is expected to create a grading system in the health service and fix conditions of service for doctors and nurses.
