The Minister of Health and Child Care, Douglas Mombeshora, said the recent demonstrations held by nurses at Sally Mugabe Central Hospital in Harare were illegal as the issues raised by the nurses were already being addressed.
The nurses were protesting deteriorating working conditions, which they claimed were impacting operations at one of Zimbabwe’s largest referral hospitals.
Their grievances included a lack of basic amenities such as electricity and running water, which they said were affecting both their work and the quality of care provided to patients.
Speaking in Parliament last week, Mombeshora said the nurses’ primary complaint related to shortages of essential medicines and supplies, particularly syringes. He said the national medicine stock levels currently stand at 49%, with plans to reach 60% by the end of the year. Said Mombeshora:
<blockquote>
The problem that we saw of those who were demonstrating at Sally Mugabe Hospital has nothing to do with that system. It is all about their thoughts. They were complaining about the lack of stocks of medicines.
Of course, the stock levels may be low but right now the stock levels are at 49%, we are not happy with it but this year our target is 60%. We want to increase the levels gradually but we cannot do it immediately.
</blockquote>
Mombeshora said authorities were uncertain whether the nurses were protesting due to a shortage of syringes or if there were other underlying reasons, as syringes were available at pharmacies. He said:
<blockquote>
What surprised me is that when I went to Sally Mugabe Hospital on Monday when they were demonstrating, most of the things they were talking about were things that they knew were being looked into.
Some of the things they complained about were syringes. We went to pharmacies and saw the syringes.
So, we now do not know whether they were demonstrating because of a lack of syringes or they were doing it for something else.
What they did was illegal because they were supposed to give us two weeks in advance before they started demonstrating.
We told them to come and talk to us in time so that things may be worked out, we want to ensure that the health of our people is safe.
</blockquote>
Mombeshora said the Health Ministry faced challenges in procuring medicines, citing delays in budget allocations and extended lead times in manufacturing.
More: <a href="https://www.newsday.co.zw/local-news/article/200039935/nurses-strike-illegal-govt">NewsDay</a>

Pindula News

The Health Minister says nurses protesting at Sally Mugabe Hospital did something wrong because their issues were already being fixed. The nurses were complaining about not having enough basic things like electricity and water that were affecting their work and patient care. The Minister said they were also upset about not having enough medicines and supplies, but they were already working on getting more. He said the nurses were supposed to talk to them first before protesting and that it was illegal for them to protest without warning. The Minister admitted there were challenges in getting medicines but they were trying to fix it.

Health Minister Calls Nurses' Protests At Sally Mugabe Hospital Illegal

Vice President and Minister Of health And Child Care Minister Constantino Chiwenga while addressing farmers at the launch of the Climate-Proofed Presidential Inputs Programme at Nyabvuti Farm in Guruve yesterday made a plea to nurses to return to work and save lives as he said the government is working hard to address their grievances, The Herald reports.
Pleading with the nurses, Chiwenga said:
<blockquote>We are working hard to improve our health delivery system at ward, village, district, province up to referral institutions. We are strengthening our system so that people can access medication easily.
Our health workers are on strike. We are encouraging them to return to work so we that we can save lives. While we are aware of their grievances, they should also consider saving lives. We are not blind to your issues. We are working hard to assist, but you should also consider lives of patients</blockquote>
Chiwenga implored the health workers to consider his pleas and said we are a family and the challenges they were facing had accumulated for long and it will take time to address them:
<blockquote>While we are addressing your grievances, we cannot expect a solution overnight. These challenges have been accumulating over a long period and will also take a little bit of time to be addressed.
We are one family, one people and we need to unite and help each other. We have launched the Pfumvudza programme, which is aimed at boosting agricultural productivity. But people cannot work if they are not in good health,</blockquote>
In conclusion, Chiwenga urged people to adhere to COVID-19 containment measures like social distancing and wearing masks and sanitising their hands.
More: <a href="https://www.herald.co.zw/vp-chiwenga-urges-nurses-to-end-strike/">The Herald </a>

We Are Not Blind To Your Issues, We Are Working Hard To Assist - VP Chiwenga Urges Nurses To End Strike

Zanu PF’s director of information Tafadzwa Mugwadi is seen in this video saying nurses in Zimbabwe are not professional as they are striking in the middle of a pandemic that has brought the country to a standstill.
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<blockquote cite="https://developers.facebook.com/ZiFMStereo/posts/3431529236929770" class="fb-xfbml-parse-ignore">ZANU PF Information Chief Tafadzwa Mugwadi blasts nurses for recently engaging on a demonstration. ‘Do we really have…
Posted by <a href="https://www.facebook.com/ZiFMStereo/">ZiFM Stereo</a> on <a href="https://developers.facebook.com/ZiFMStereo/posts/3431529236929770">Wednesday, July 8, 2020</a></blockquote>
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WATCH: There Is No Professionalism In Zimbabwe's Nurses Who Engage In A Political Strike During A Pandemic - Zanu PF's Tafadzwa Mugwadi

The nurses at Parirenyatwa Group of Hospitals on Friday morning staged a demonstration in response to a notice to evict them from government accommodation.
The government gave the nurses three months notice (July 1 to September 30) to vacate their flats because they are on strike against poor working conditions and low wages.
Watch the video below:
<div class="wp-video" style="width: 640px;">
<video class="wp-video-shortcode" controls="controls" height="352" id="video-172657-1" preload="metadata" width="640"><source src="https://t792ae.c2.acecdn.net/wp-content/uploads/2020/07/Nurses-Demo.mp4?_=1" type="video/mp4"/><a href="https://t792ae.c2.acecdn.net/wp-content/uploads/2020/07/Nurses-Demo.mp4">https://t792ae.c2.acecdn.net/wp-content/uploads/2020/07/Nurses-Demo.mp4</a></video></div>

WATCH: Nurses At Parirenyatwa Demonstrate Against Move To Expel Them From Govt Accommodation

<blockquote>The Zimbabwe Nurses Association is in support of the position taken by the Health Apex following today’s bipartite meeting (06/06/19) held in Harare.
Prices of basic commodities, transport, accommodation and general cost of living continue to go up further making it difficult for nurses to afford a decent lifestyle. Goods are priced either in US Dollars or equivalent of the parallel market rate.
The employer is, however, failing to be sensitive to the plight of its employees by continuing to pay our members paltry RTGS salaries, whose original value was long eroded last October.
We, therefore, support the Health Apex’s position to maintain the 14-day ultimatum should the employer fail to respond to our plea.</blockquote>
<img decoding="async" src="https://pbs.twimg.com/media/D8mPXrCV4AYF5jF.jpg"/>

Full Text: Nurses Threaten To Strike Over 'Paltry RTGS$ Salaries'

The Zimbabwe Nurses Association (ZINA) has warned the government that its members will embark on industrial action after there was a deadlock in negotiations with the Health Services Board (HSB).
The association representing nurses in all the country’s public health institutions advised its members to brace for a strike after giving the government a 14-day notice. ZINA said in a statement:
<blockquote>Having failed to find a common position with the employer, a deadlock has been declared.
We are therefore issuing a notice of intent to embark on industrial action in the next 14 days if our grievances are not addressed.</blockquote>
The latest threat follows threats by the Zimbabwe Hospital Doctors Association (ZHDA) and the Amalgamated Rural Teachers’ Union of Zimbabwe (ARTUZ) to go on strike if they are not paid in United States dollars.
<h4>More: <a href="https://www.dailynews.co.zw/articles/2019/05/24/ed-feels-the-heat-nurses-threaten-to-strike" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Daily News</a></h4>

Zimbabwe Nurses Threaten To Go On Strike

President Emmerson Mnangagwa has refused dto apologise for the dismissal of nurses by his deputy, Vice President Constantino Chiwenga. Some people had used the president’s Facebook page to demand an apology from the government and questioned how the same government was able to afford buying cars for traditional leaders such as chiefs. However, Mnangagwa refused to apologise and said that the nurses strike had been politicised. Mnangagwa previously declared that the nurses <a href="https://news.pindula.co.zw/2018/04/26/video-mnangagwa-speaks-on-nurses-strike-says-the-country-already-has-its-owners/" rel="noopener" target="_blank">had been taught that “this country has its owners”.</a>
Here is the video of Mnangagwa’s response:
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Video: Mnangagwa Refuses To Apologise For Nurses' Dismissal, Insists Protest Had Been Politicised

Speaking at a rally on Wednesday, President Emmerson Mnangagwa said that the government had fired the striking nurses who had to realise the country already has its owners. Mnangagwa was addressing Johane Masowe YeChishanu Vadzidzi VaJesu Church pilgrims from all across Africa. Earlier on today, t<a href="https://news.pindula.co.zw/2018/04/26/nurses-withdraw-high-court-case-against-vp-chiwenga/" rel="noopener" target="_blank">he nurses withdrew their High Court challenge against Vice President Chiwenga,</a> Minister of Health David Parirenyatwa and the Health Services Board (HSB)
<div class="jetpack-video-wrapper"><iframe allow="accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture" allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="360" loading="lazy" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/aUS6OrSErF0?feature=oembed" title="President Mnangagwa on nurses" width="640"></iframe></div>
Video Credit:<a href="https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCc5PNvzK16y8gq2Jx8vovmQ" rel="noopener" target="_blank"> Zimpapers online</a>

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