GOVERNMENT has threatened to withdraw salaries for the striking doctors following a deadlock on salary negotiations with the Zimbabwe Hospital Doctors’ Association (ZHDA). The doctors, who went on strike on March 1, are demanding better working conditions, allowances and an increase in salaries among a host of issues.
BY SINDISO DUBE/VENERANDA LANGA
In a letter dated March 20, Health ministry secretary Gerald Gwinji advised chief executive officers and provincial medical directors at public hospitals to cease salaries for workers who absented themselves from work for more than 14 days without official leave.
“The withdrawal of services by some doctors entered its 20th day on March 20. Heads of institutions are duly reminded of the provision of Public Service Commission [PSC] circular number 18 of 2000 referenced C/260 which states that all heads of offices, heads of departments and heads of ministries are directed to cease salary and allowances of members who absent themselves from duty without authorised leave of absence,” the letter read.
“The salary and allowances should be ceased immediately on the 14th day of continuous absence from duty by advising the Salary Service Bureau directly. A copy of PSC circular is attached for ease of reference.”
But ZHDA spokesperson Mxolisi Ngwenya scoffed at the threats, saying the government had no right to withhold their salaries.
“It’s a workers’ right to go on industrial action. The ministry needs to respect that. Furthermore, we informed them of our intent to strike 21 days in advance. Their failure to resolve our genuine issues has frustrated the ministry to resort to scorched earth policy of threats and trying to divide ZHDA members,” he said.
“We will see if the threats will treat patients, we will see if the threats will put medicines in hospitals. The ministry should wake up and fix the root issues and not resort to threats. This is a new dispensation and the ministry’s actions are tantamount to sabotage of the health sector and of our national government as a whole.”
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Mpilo Central Hospital chief executive officer Leonard Mabandi said: “This is a statutory mandate and nothing new. This has been in place for years and everyone knows that if you don’t attend work for continuous 14 days with no clear reasons, your salary will be ceased. As Mpilo Central Hospital, we don’t create policies, but we adhere to policies set by the government.
“The strike has affected us, but we are managing to take care of our patients with what we have in place right now.”
Meanwhile, Health minister David Parirenyatwa has denied reports that he had ordered doctors to go back to work, saying he simply pleaded with them to end their industrial action.
“I never said doctors have gone back to work, I only made an appeal for them to go back to work. The truth is that they are not happy about their salaries and so are all other health cadres. The problem is that if the Finance ministry increases their salaries, then they will be forced to have an increase for all civil servants,” Parirenyatwa told members of the Parliamentary Portfolio Committee on Health, yesterday.
“The nurses are the ones that have gone back to work, but the doctors said they were not happy about their call allowances, and I really hope we can come to an agreement with the doctors,” he said.
Parirenyatwa said $10 million had been availed to the health sector for vehicle loans for doctors, nurses and other health personnel.
Their figure for on-call allowances was $540 per month. The contention of the matter is that if we put up on-call allowances for doctors, nurses will also go on strike.
He also denied claims that he had imposed friends and relatives to sit on the National Aids Council board.
Parirenyatwa said he had appointed professionals from different sectors such as health, business, the media, HIV activists and religious people.
