Tinotenda Hove – Zimbabwe Congress of Trade Unions
The Zimbabwe Congress of Trade Unions (ZCTU) has declared its full support for nurses currently on strike, who are demanding higher salaries, improved allowances, and access to essential medical supplies.

On Tuesday, 24 March, ZCTU Secretary General Tirivanhu Marimo said the nurses are pushing for a salary review to keep pace with the rising cost of living, noting that many received lower pay this month compared to previous months.

The nurses are also calling for a revision of housing and transport allowances, highlighting that Public Service Commission (PSC) buses do not align with their shift schedules. They are further demanding free medical care at public hospitals, citing the financial strain of paying for treatment themselves.

Marimo noted that, alongside shortages of essential medical supplies and equipment, these challenges are undermining nurses’ ability to provide effective care.

He added:
“For years, medical workers have been calling for improved working conditions, enforceable staffing ratios and have been patient for too long while the government has been dragging its feet. We urge the nurses to be steadfast in their demands. The fight for the safety and dignity of nurses and their patients must be unrelenting until sanity is restored in the public health sector.”

Marimo stressed that decent work is a right, not a privilege, noting that health sector workers are poorly paid and cutting their allowances is callous. He also warned that the sector is collapsing due to lack of prioritization by the central government.

He added:
“The government needs to quickly respond and address concerns raised to save lives. It is embarrassing that the nurses have downed tools on the heels of remarks by the Finance, Economic Development and Investment Promotion Deputy Minister Kudakwashe Mnangagwa, that the lowest-paid civil servants now earn above the Poverty Datum Line and that government salaries have become competitive.

We also call upon the government to address the welfare of all its employees as a matter of urgency for improved service delivery and not wait for them to down tools.”