Zimbabwe has introduced a law that prohibits health workers such as nurses and doctors from participating in prolonged strikes, imposing punishments of up to six months in jail for defiant workers or union leaders, state media and a government spokesman said on Wednesday. .
The provision, signed into law by President Emmerson Mnangagwa last week but made public now, stipulates that health workers can only strike for up to three days because they are considered an essential service.
Health professionals must continue to provide emergency services during a strike, government spokesman Nick Mangwana tweeted.
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Other countries, including neighboring South Africa and Zambia, limit strikes by health care workers but impose less severe punishment, such as layoffs, suspensions or reduced pay.
Healthcare workers take part in a demonstration over low wages at the Parirenyatwa Hospital in Harare on June 21, 2022. Zimbabwe has enacted a law that prohibits healthcare workers such as nurses and doctors from going on prolonged strikes.
(AP Photo/Tsvangirayi Mukwazhi, File)
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Frequent, weeks-long strikes by health workers have for years strained Zimbabwe’s public health facilities, which are already in poor condition due to dilapidated infrastructure and shortages of medicines.
Public health workers argue that their salaries (around $100 a month for many) and lack of basic equipment make their jobs untenable.
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The southern African country, once home to some of the best public healthcare facilities and staff in Africa, is now battling brain drain as nurses and doctors seek better opportunities elsewhere, mainly in the United Kingdom.
