adminLiberty Dube
NURSES at the Mutare City Council-run Sakubva Clinic this week continued with their strike, with the cash-strapped council struggling to find a solution. A total of 52 nurses late last month downed their tools over non-payment of outstanding salaries, leaving scores of patients from Sakubva and other suburbs stranded.
More than 100 patients, among them pregnant women and those on Anti-Retroviral Treatment, were sent back home by disgruntled nurses who demanded to be paid their dues first before resuming work.
Mutare City Council acting Town Clerk, Enginner Donald Nyatoti this week said nothing had been done to address the nurses’ plight.
“The nurses are still on strike. Nothing has changed. There is no solution yet. Nurses from the Zimbabwe Prison and Correctional Services have come on board to save the situation by offering their services,” he said.
The nurses have reportedly gone for several months without receiving their salaries.
Nurses interviewed vowed never to go back to work before they are paid their outstanding salaries.
They took a swipe at Mutare City Council management for neglecting them and ignoring their plight.
“How do they expect us to go back to work without our dues? We are starving and there is nothing we can do about it. We have families to take care of. They should just be considerate,” said one nurse who requested anonymity.
Another nurse said they would continue with their industrial action until their grievances were addressed.
“We are really worried. We are being taken for granted. We are starving. We are suffering. We will not go back to work. They know what to do, we need our monies,” said the disgruntled nurse.
Online Reporter