Health Permanent Secretary Velepi Mtonga has appealed to striking Nurses in Ndola to end their strike because negotiations with their unions in Lusaka have not yet been concluded.
Dr. Mtonga said there was no need for the workers to go on strike as no percentage had yet been agreed on by the concerned parties because negotiations were still going on.
The PS further assured the workers that government would do everything possible to bring the culprits involved in the K10 billion plus scandal to book.
Dr. Mtonga made the appeal last evening when she met the striking health workers at Ndola Central Hospital.
The striking workers who comprised of personnel from Arthur Davisons Children’s Hospital (ADH) Ndola District Health Management Team (DHMT), and hosts Ndola Central Hospital (NCH) however vowed that they would not return to the wards unless government gave them their demands.
The Nurses said the idea of bringing Chinese mobile hospitals to Zambia was a serious indication of how little government appreciated the work that nurses were doing in the country.
The nurses resolved that they would only go back to the wards after government concluded negotiations with the unions.
The irate workers who were carrying a black coffin, charged that the ball was in the hands of government as the pace at which government would conclude the negotiations would decided the day nurses and other workers would go back for work.
They almost manhandled Civil Servants and Allied Workers Union of Zambia (CSAWUZ) Regional Secretary John Nsululu for suggesting that they carry out a sit in protest.
“Mr. Nsululu this is beyond you, we have a message for the PS, and that is she goes back and tells her friends in Lusaka that we are on strike, and it’s not only the nurses but even us from the pharmacy,” shouted one irate worker.
Another worker told the PS that nurses were ready to be fired as long as government paid them their money.
“Madam PS tell your friends that we will not accept to be intimidated, if you want, fire us as long as you pay us our dues its okay we will go and work where we are appreciated as Zambian nurses, and by the way we are very marketable,” she said.
Copperbelt permanent Secretary Villie Lombanya who was present at the meeting, appealed to the workers to air out their grievances at his office and not to resort to striking.
ZANIS
Why cant RB sell the hearses and Mobile hospitals and pay them well. Because its true Zambian Nurses are hot cakes. Health workers are in very short supply all over the world especially in Canada, OZ, NZ, UK and USA.
Alternatively, government could stop all the irrelevant conferences and Presidential trips local and abroad and save money to pay its workers well.
correction..
pay workers well.
I know this is not the place to say it but like I always tell my ZAmbian Brothers, Barcelona ba teya bola ngati nichi bombwa. I am not one of those supporters that just sprung up and support english soccer just because the media feeds us what they want us to hear. Manu was out classed out Nyunyad and out Eto’o’d and out Messi’d.
As a Liverpool fan, I have always loved Manu, for I supported Liverpool from the Eighties. but Zambians need to recorgnise that Eto’o is the best Striker in the world. He did it against Arsenal Causing Henry to Move to Barca because that was the only way he could win the champions league. As for our nurses pay them well, or they are going to flee to the west and east. Ba zakaenda. May God bless you all.
Isaiah 40:31
“But they that wait upon the LORD
shall renew their strength;
they shall mount up with wings as EAGLES
they shall run, and not be weary;
and they shall walk, and not faint”
It’s a pity that we can have this boma which is busy purchasing hearses and not paying the health personnel well. Maybe they are not paying them what they deserve so that they can start stealing tax payers money through operations of the useless manda mandas when more Zambians die due to luck of medical care in Government health facilities. Please SOS and not only think of yourselves going for treatment to South Africa were unfortunately most of your friends have come back on cargo planes registered through ZEGA
Government needs to seriously look at this issue. I was there myself and i can tell you bloggers that the health workers are angry and serious about this strike unless Government comes up with a responsible solution, patients will keep dying in the wards and by the way its not only Ndola, even Kitwe and Kabwe have joined
the first thing the govenment did was to increases thier salaries, like wise increases the nurses before people start to died, we are poor and can afford to go to south africa
Nurses have a genuine cause to strike although its a painful thing to do on their part. The govt. officials up to RB awarded themselves good salaries just before they started working , this will be showing double standards if the other workers do not have an increament. For God’s sake let the govt. put their priorities right this time around & forget about the mobile expensive hospitals which wont have nurses since they are not motivated!
wapya muzi. hee,Ba Mutonga kubauzilatu kuti fire us, brave indeed.RB give the nurses their dues after all you increased your salaries even before you started working
Please Health 0fficials pay workers their dues and maintain the grant funding.Return the central board, this system of lusaka administration shouldo come to an end.Zambia the waste country with Health services in the Southern Region.Do we have govt mechanism operational?
See what greed creates
The Ministry is in negotiation with who? The K10 Billion thieves, the Swedish donors, the Netherlands or just trying to buy time? Nurses, money is gone.