Striking Zimbabwean doctors have failed to go back to work in the 48 hours reportedly agreed to between the government and the disgruntled health workers who are demanding to be paid in US dollars because the local “bond note” continues to lose value and is encountering market rejection.
The doctors, including juniors who have been on strike for more than a month, are also demanding better working conditions, protective equipment and medication for patients.
At the weekend the Zimbabwe Hospital Doctors’ Association (ZHDA) was tasked by the government with persuading its members to return to work within 48 hours. The deadline issued on Saturday ended on Monday, 7 January, at 5 pm.
In a statement, ZHDA said it “carried widespread consultations of its members as per agreement”.
However, the association said its members “felt that the agreement did not take cognisance of their immediate incapacitation in a raging economy, as no current offer was made on the remuneration of the doctors to improve their welfare
Source: IOL
