The Zimbabwe Nurses Association (ZINA) has called off a strike which was supposed to start on Monday, June 24 (today) due to incapacitation.
Following a meeting on Friday between the ZINA officials, President Emmerson Mnangagwa, three cabinet ministers namely, Health and Child Care Minister Obadiah Moyo, Finance and Economic Development Mthuli Ncube and the acting Minister of Public Service, Labour and Social Welfare Monica Mutsvangwa, the strike has been called off.
ZINA released a statement after the meeting in which it said:
Of the grievances discussed, the one which was dealt with at great length was the issue relating to remuneration wherein the executives reiterated that due to incapacity the nurses would not be attending work from June 24, 2019, unless salaries were increased.
The President and all those in attendance understood the position of the nurses and gave an undertaking that salaries are going to be reviewed.
The association revealed that members’ salaries were going to raised from July 1, 2019. ZINA president, Enock Dongo, had this to say:
We feel that after consulting it will not be prudent to down tools given that we met a high powered delegation led by the President himself.
Downing tools after the Government has promised to review our salaries will be viewed as negotiating in bad faith.
Nurses at public health institutions across the country as well as the rest of the civil services have been hard hit by the erosion of their salaries as the value of the local currency continues to fall.