Harare — Nurses in Zimbabwe have scored a major victory with the government hiring a number of unemployed nurses and reversing dismissal letters of almost 6‚000 other nurses, who were fired after downing tools. Two weeks ago, 16‚000 nurses in government institutions went on a strike that effectively crippled the health sector‚ resulting in vice-president Constantino Chiwenga adopting a hardline stance and deciding to dismiss them. However‚ members of the Zimbabwe Nurses Association (Zina) in smaller towns broke ranks with their Harare counterparts and began reporting back for duty by the end of last week. On Monday, the government accepted all the nurses back and it was business as usual again‚ despite a pending urgent court application by nurses challenging their dismissal. “We are happy that nurses have been taken back unconditionally because their grievances are valid‚” Zina’s secretary-general Enock Dongo said. One nurse said that she had signed a dismissal letter last week‚ but...

Subscribe now to unlock this article.

Support BusinessLIVE’s award-winning journalism for R129 per month (digital access only).

There’s never been a more important time to support independent journalism in SA. Our subscription packages now offer an ad-free experience for readers.

Cancel anytime.

Would you like to comment on this article?
Sign up (it's quick and free) or sign in now.

Speech Bubbles

Please read our Comment Policy before commenting.