According to state-run media and a government official, Zimbabwe has passed a legislation that prohibits health professionals such as nurses and physicians from engaging in extended strikes. Additionally, the bill imposes sanctions of up to six months in jail for recalcitrant workers or union leaders. The measure, which was signed into law by President Emmerson Mnangagwa last week but made public on Wednesday, says that health employees are deemed an important service and hence have the right to strike for up to three days.
Nick Mangwana, a spokesperson for the administration, said that medical personnel should continue to provide emergency services even if they are on strike. Other nations, such neighboring South Africa and Zambia, ban strikes by health workers but impose less severe consequences, such as dismissals, work suspensions, or salary reductions. For instance, in South Africa, health employees who go on strike can be fined. The public health facilities in Zimbabwe have been put under additional stress for years as a result of frequent strikes by health workers that last for weeks at a time. These facilities were already in a bad state due to deteriorating infrastructure and a lack of drugs. Workers in the public health sector complain that they are unable to do their tasks because their pay, which for many of them are about ZW 361,000 ($100) per month, and a lack of essential equipment.
According to the Zimbabwe Congress of Trade Unions (ZCTU), the country also has a high percentage of unemployment, which is now estimated to be around 90 percent. The country in Southern Africa, which formerly had some of the greatest public healthcare facilities and employees in the area, is currently grappling with a brain drain as nurses and physicians leave the country in search of better prospects abroad, mostly in the United Kingdom.