Some nurses and other medical workers at the University Teaching Hospital -UTH and other health facilities have started reporting back for work. Health Minister Joseph Kasonde said that is happy that the health workers have decided to return for work as government rectifies anomalies in the new salary structures.
Dr Kasonde has since called on all those that have stayed away from work to rescind their work boycott and return to work. He was speaking at a media briefing in Lusaka. Nurses and other health personnel had gone on a strike to press for the harmonization of the salary structures after noticing a number of anomalies. Government has since started rectifying the pay roll distortions.
And NURSES and pharmacists at Kitwe Central Hospital (KCH) have called off their strike action.
KCH senior medical superintendant John Mwewa and Zambia Union of Nurses Organisations (ZUNO) Copperbelt acting Chairperson Ernest Mumba said in separate interviews yesterday that the majority of the nurses who downed tools had resumed work.
Dr Mwewa said the nurses had since Sunday been slowly trekking back to work and that as of yesterday, a good number of them had resumed work.
“Most of the nurses have as of today come back for work and we expect things properly normalize by tomorrow (today),” Dr Mwewa said.
Mr Mumba said the union yesterday morning held a successful meeting with its members who agreed to resume work.
“We have had a meeting with the nurses this morning (yesterday) on the institution premises which resulted in the nurses calling off the work boycott as they wait for Government to rectify the anomalies on salaries,” Mr Mumba said.
Strike or not,health service delivery remains poor in Zambia the ACC has ignored this sector way too long,its about time they moved in.You really have to twist some fingers just to get an Xray,nurses attitudes are the worst i have ever seen.Honestly,they dont deserve a pay raise.
U are an id10t
Deduct the number of days they didn’t work. It’s no work, no pay.
This should teach them a lesson in future.
Your stinking ass!!
Then these id10ts must be charged for being absent. Anyway, they are the majority who voted this government. let them enjoy the fruits. HH told then that they would receive 5 million per month, they rejected. 3 million is my pocket money every Friday. Anyway, I will adopt some of them and pay them 6M per month.
you idoits stop insulting us. Dont you know that we are special why were you peaple crying when we just went for a simple strike not even countrry wide. If you claim to be rich and you can adopt us why not going to india as rich peaple do to go and get treated, and let the poor come to us and appreciate the little we offer to them. My friend if you come to seek for attention when you come to our institution forget that cant work, our interests is to make sure that every one has been seen and no one is left. Mind you we see hundreds of patients a day against one health personel or two if you are lucky. just pray for more nurses to train and join the system so that 1:4 ratio can work. We are yet to see what the GRZ wil do.
What we are telling you is that stop being a nurse if you feel you are worth more than what you get. There a lot of other careers. Choosing a career is a personal decision, if you chose to be a nurse leave with what your Job has to offer.
Your argument of saying a CDE is getting close to what you’re is not only childish but lacks substance. Government should in-fact deduct from yourselves the amount equivalent to the number of days you absconded from work. NO WORK, NO PAY.
@OldRugsOut If their work is not that important to u why are u concerned. Fact is very few civil servants can go on strike just for a day and everyone notices. One Deputy minister took three days to say he had not resigned yet no one noticed he even exists!
let the governement rectify that if its true they made mistakes..viva ZUNO
We heard Doctors were canned by police sent by some UNIP senior member for striking at matero clinic in the 80’s,they were essential staff hence the punishment, they resumed work thereafter,maybe this democracy is being abused we need some handson mr President,& somebody should pay for the lives lost.
This is 2013, soon 2014, my friend. Shape up!
ZUNO stated clearly that nurses got what was agreed hence i do not see any changes in the salaries this monthend except for a few people across the civil service who had anomalies.
“The uneducated can not be compared to the educated wherever you go” Iwe this is a lie.Go to places like Scandinavia you will find countries where the uneducated get more money than the educated.This mentality is just a third world thing.
Sorry Mojo i have responded to a wrong post.
oldrugs if your father is a cde or yourself does not mean that we are all not educated, it seems you do not understand the term or the value of education. Sweeping and moping can not be compared to what we go through or may be yo wife is a cde anyway. The uneducated can not be compared to the educated wherever you go. I cant stop being a nurse, as iam writing this to you iam upgrading to a degree level and yet to go up, if we all had to do accounts or teaching who wil be a nurse. mind you we shall continue complaining until things are put in the right manner. Or are you jelousy that we want more money as the pf stated, sorry its unfortunate that you wil not enjoy any part of our package.
“The uneducated can not be compared to the educated wherever you go” Iwe this is a lie.Go to places like Scandinavia you will find countries where the uneducated get more money than the educated.This mentality is just a third world thing
@ Saulosi, Firstly Scandinavia and Zambia are light years apart. Secondly what will u tell yo kids about the value of education?
@Waluma Njoka….no wonder i said it is a third world mentality.The guy was saying that it is the same everywhere but it is not the case in all the countries in the world.
Good to hear this.We salute you our dear hardworking nurses.You guys rocks !!!
Robust infrastructure and dynamic recruitment can now continue. Thank God that progress has been achieved. In a democracy work stoppage is a recognized form of expressing dissatisfaction. At the same time, returning to work and catching up on lost time is also necessary.
Some nurses and other medical workers at the University Teaching Hospital -UTH and other health facilities have started reporting back for work.
What of others?
The stubborn nurses should be shown the way out because they don’t consider their work a calling to save lives. No wonder patients die in hospitals when some nurses are busy chatting and laughing.
Mwalibatumpika. They know that Zambians don’t care about the lives lost in such circumstances. Its time we consider employing foreign nurses so that our nurses can learn what it take to be a nurse.
To you nurses that white uniform symbolises Angels, the savers of life, the first and the last in the line of Life. sacrifice to save the people! surely God will multiply the value of your salary.
Angels are loved not hated and…
Look @ both sides of the coin… Their employers should value their input too.
You fool which calling are you talking about? will they eat ‘calling’? We all go into government to eat-munkombweism
Personally i think the govt made a mistake, we need to value education and motivating these professionals should be a priority. How can a sweeper be getting a salary close to nurse? Its unfair and I think nurses have a valid case here
“Education is the best equalizer”, says a popular economist and politician, HH. The nurses have a valid point in their argument. But what is sad is that when these critical people go on strike lives are lost. The question is, is the strike the only way to communicate to their grievances to gvt?? If there are other means which i think there are, then other means must have been employed to avoid loss of lives. In harmonizing salaries, gvt must realize that the salary graduations must take into account one’s education and experience too.
How i wish the govt could enrol more male nurses in the coming years. they work better and devoted to the cause, lets change this attitude of our female nurses who think that the uniform adds pride to them instead of white for pure heart.
Chawama fi nurse ifi to go bck to so,,they shd also know pay as u work,so for those days they were not working they shd convert them in in value and deduct fro their pay for real
*****
You can tell by the way our nurses behaved that one important thing is missing in our educated Zambians.Nurses are not the only educated people in Zambia who have been affected by the increment. THE SADDEST THING IS WHERE SOME PEOPLE SAID WE SHOULD MAKE LIFE FOR SATA DIFFICULT SO THAT HE FAILS TO WORK. They can burn market shops, kill innocent tax drivers,influence students and pupils to riot create artificial shortage of meal meal. They will take advantage of any miss understanding just to make PF unpopular. The best part of it is that their evil plans are short lived and the same people they are using will rise against them because they have turned them into instruments of destruction. NURSES THANK U FOR BEING USED BUT REMEMBER YOUR PAY IS FAR LESS IMPORTANT THAN INDUCED DEATHS
Prunnig should be introduced in Government hospitals.
This is not the first time govt is letting us down . In another aspect they are busy training HIV nurse practitioner but they hv not started paying them . It s now 3 years nothing Is happening . Meanwhile they r weking and no arrears for the years worked.
Now it should be teachers. Am sure those anomalies are also there.