HARARE – Zimbabwe enacted a law banning health workers such as nurses and doctors from prolonged strikes and facing penalties of up to six months in prison for defiant workers or union leaders, state media and a government spokesman said on Wednesday.
The regulation, signed by President Emmerson Mnangagwa last week but now published, says health workers can only go on strike for up to three days because it is an essential service.
Health workers should continue to provide emergency services during a strike, government spokesman Nick Mangwana tweeted.
Other countries, including neighboring South Africa and Zambia, restrict strikes by health workers but impose less severe penalties such as layoffs, work stoppages or docking wages.
For years, frequent and week-long strikes by health workers have been a burden on Zimbabwe’s public health facilities, which are already in poor condition due to the dilapidated infrastructure and the lack of medicines.
Public health workers argue that their salaries — around $100 a month for many — and lack of basic equipment make their jobs unsustainable.
The South African country, which once boasted some of the best public health facilities and staff in Africa, is now struggling with brain drain as nurses and doctors seek better opportunities elsewhere, mainly in the UK.
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