Parirenyatwa Hospital Workers Down Tools, Cite Incapacitation

Workers at Parirenyatwa Group of Hospitals, Zimbabwe’s biggest referral hospital, have joined the growing list of government and state-funded institutions’ employees withdrawing their labour citing incapacitation.

On Wednesday, the workers wrote to the institution’s acting executive director Engelbart Mbengwa informing him that they were withdrawing their services with immediate effect. The letter, dated February 23, 2022 reads:

Reference is made to the above and subject that the health workers association having the negotiation space closed for almost a year have resolved to declare an incapacitation of its members.

Non-claimable health sector specific allowances as agreed in the CBA 2 of 2018 i.e. on call, call out /standby night duty, nurse managers and special health allowances have not been reviewed for two years now.

We need to remind the employer that these allowances are based on work done during odd hours with little compensation being offered to the employee. Uniforms allowance is now very negligible and cannot buy any soap or detergent.

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The employees also bemoaned the freezing of donor-funded nostro retention allowances a situation they said has heightened brain drain as there is little incentive to continue going for work in the health sector.

The workers said they are also not happy with their Covid-19 risk allowances which they said was last reviewed in 2020.

The health workers’ strike follows a similar move by teachers and universities workers who are also citing incapacitation.

More: NewZimbabwe