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Paidamoyo Chipunza Harare Bureau
THE government has reinstated allowances for health professionals with effect from January 1 this year, following an outcry after the allowances were stopped in 2010.
Health professionals were being paid a fixed on-call allowance which depended on their grade.
Now, the health workers will be paid a blanket on-call allowance of 25 percent of their salary.
Health Services Board public relations officer Nyasha Maravanyika said:
“HSB has rectified the anomalies that have been there since 2010 on payment of allowances to workers in the health sector.”
He said the workers received their allowances in February, which were backdated to January.
Hospital Doctors Association president Dr Fortune Nyamande said the reinstatement of the allowances was a good starting point although they were less than what they expected.
“I can confirm that payment of on-call allowances was rectified while the medical and health factor allowances were reinstated. It’s, however, less than what we had bargained for, but it’s indeed a positive development to our negotiations,” he said.
Junior doctors staged a nationwide strike late last year following what they said was “laxity” by the government in addressing their concerns.
The doctors were demanding reinstatement of their allowances as well as an upward review of their salaries.
Online Reporter