Doctors give govt 14-day ultimatum
Local doctors serving at public institutions have given government a 14-day ultimatum to review their salaries upwards, improve on-call allowances and working conditions or face a crippling strike.
The move comes barely three days after doctors at Parirenyatwa Group of Hospitals in the capital embarked on a wild-cat strike over the scrapping of $300 housing allowances.
In a notice send to Health and Child Care permanent secretary, Gerald Gwinji, the Zimbabwe Hospital Doctors Association (ZDHA) executive said there were deeply concerned by the current salaries, allowances and working conditions for doctors working at Parirenyatwa Group of Hospitals, Harare Central Hospital, United Bulawayo Hospital (UBH), Chitungwiza Central Hospital and Mpilo Hospital.
“The government must not charge all doctors residing in government provided accommodation the current exorbitant rates of $250. These rates should be reduced to $37 for bachelors flats and $45 for one bedroomed flats.
“We also resolved that government must pay at least 1.45 x hourly rate as an on-call allowance. The government must also reinstate the duty free facility where doctors can import vehicles without paying duty,” a statement from the doctors said. “Lastly, the government must urgently come up with a comprehensive response to the possibility of an Ebola outbreak that shall protect doctors, other health workers and their families from the deadly disease.”
ZDHA said the resolution was made after nationwide consultations with its membership over the last few months.
“We expect your response to the above mentioned issues in writing within 14 days and failure of which will lead to a nationwide strike by our members,” ZDHA said.
According to ZDHA, the basic salary for doctors currently ranges between $282 and $ 1 200 per month, exclusive of allowances.
Recent reports also claimed that doctors get on-call and house-call allowances of $70 and $129 per month. Junior doctors are expected to serve for at least three years in the public health sector before they are allowed to join the private sector. The Zimbabwe Mail
