by Tawanda Musariri
Worried about the deteriorating health situation in the country amid an industrial action by junior doctors, the government has upped its game to ensure normalcy returns to the public health sector. The latest Government response comes behind hobnobbing by the doctors in their demands to the employer.
In a statement read live on TV, acting President Constantino Chiwenga warned the striking doctors saying Government will be announcing its intentions on them with an intention to safeguard national health.
“Government will not allow any demonstrations at medical facilities whose purpose is to treat patients and ensure their full recovery. In particular, Government is disturbed by the fact that in spite of the many concessions it made to the striking doctors, and the broad agreement reached on all but two issues, the striking health personnel continue to withhold their labour and negotiate in bad faith even though they are designated as an essential service under the Labour Act, and even though Government has bent backwards to accommodate them,” said the acting President.
Acting president Chiwenga thus recommended that, “In line with the Court Order, to request the Health Services Board to take appropriate action against the striking doctors whose conduct has been declared unlawful by our courts, and is contrary to the Hippocratic Oath, ethics and international best practices which enjoin medical doctors and interns to ‘always treat other persons as having individual moral worth and dignity and never to treat them merely as means to one’s own ends.’”
Government’s position on the currency of remuneration is clear and the Acting President stuck to it saying, “For the avoidance of doubt, Government will not remunerate any of its work forces in United States Dollars, a position it made very clear to striking doctors. The hard-earned currency will be committed to, among other areas, importing essential medicines for use in hospitals and clinics, as well as to facilitate the recovery of the economy, in line with the Transitional Stabilization Programme.”
Commenting on the strike action on social media, @EddMatty said, “But I think Acting President was handling the issue well. As much as we want our doctors to be paid more the country is bleeding, there is no money. Strike does not solve anything. Let’s negotiate whilst we are working. People's lives are at stake here.”
Meanwhile, a bipartite meeting held on 31 December 2018 appreciated the improvements made in medical supplies in hospitals, the unfreezing of job posts supported by a $10 million facility, the $6 million vehicle scheme for medical personnel, payment of donor funded allowances in the currency paid by the donor and advance salary payments to the health personnel on a need basis.
Over and above these, Government has instructed fuel merchants to excuse doctors from queuing for fuel. Given the above, Government is hereby seen to have fulfilled all but the forex payment wish by the doctors.
