Nurses protest over poor wages, accuse Chiwenga of “lying”, teachers join

Teachers have joined nurses and senior doctors in downing tools in protest against the poor salaries that the government of Zimbabwe is offering them.

Healthcare practitioners on Monday staged a peaceful demonstration at the country’s biggest public hospital, Parirenyatwa. Anti-riot police were deployed but the demonstrators managed to send their message of incapacitation to the government.

Addressing the media, health APEX panel leader Tapiwanashe Kusotera accused Vice President Constantino Chiwenga who doubles as the Health Minister of “lying” that he engaged the civil servants over the issue of salaries which remain unsolved.

“The Minister of Health and Child care has never met with any Health employee and the Government continues to offer lies as opposed to what is prevailing on the ground. The situation is bad,” Kusotera said.

The civil servants are demanding to be paid in US$ because the Zimbabwean dollar is continually falling against the American greenback.

Federation of Zimbabwe Educators’ Unions (FOZEU) announced on Sunday that teachers would not be able to go to work on (Monday) due to incapacity.

“This note serves to confirm that members of the Federation of Zimbabwe Educators’ Unions (FOZEU), namely ARTUZ (Amalgamated Rural Teachers Union of Zimbabwe), EUZ (Educators Union of Zimbabwe), PEUZ (Progressive Educators Union of Zimbabwe) and PTUZ (Progressive Teachers Union of Zimbabwe) will not be able to report for work starting from 20 June to 24 June 2022,” read the statement.

“It is clear from the outcome of the National Joint Negotiating Council (NJNC) held on 17 June 2022 that the government is not serious about the welfare of civil servants.

“We cannot continue to be an embarrassment in our community as a result of the poverty that the government believes should remain a part of our working lives.

“We demand that within the week in which our members will not be reporting for work, the government should take the time to address our grievances with the seriousness they deserve so that the term can proceed in peace.”

Last week, the government said it was going to effect a 100 percent salary increment for civil servants next month.

But the public sector workers have rejected the new salary negotiation outcome. They want to be paid in US$.