The Zambia Congress of Trade Union is today, Monday set to meet Secretary to the Cabinet Roland Msiska to chart a way forward over the dismissed nurses.
ZCTU President Leonard Hikaumba revealed that the meeting with Dr Msiska is aimed at finding a lasting solution to the impasse over the nurses situation.
Mr Hikaumba said representatives from ZCTU and officials from the four nurses unions will meet Dr Msiska to negotiate the reinstatement of the fired nurses.
The ZCTU Chief was speaking in Lusaka last evening when he featured on a live ZNBC TV Sunday Interview programme.
“For us we remain resolute that the fired nurses should be reinstated unconditionally. Firing them is not the solution and we are confident that government will listen to our plea,” Mr Hikaumba said.
He said the plan by government to hire 800 graduates to replace the fired nurses is not a sustainable solution to acute problem.
“I don’t think government will be resolving anything by hiring new people. Nothing beats experience and if you go to UTH, those that are working will tell you that the people who have been fired were the cream of midwifery in the labour ward for instance,” he said.
Mr Hikaumba said government should not rush to applying the law when it suddenly favours its position.
“This talk of illegal strike since nurses are essential workers is neither here nor there because really the conditions under which nurses are working are deplorable. The workload is enormous and when they push for extra duty allowance, you say they are essential workers so they can’t strike. It’s not really fair.”
Nice !! Thats how it should be.Nothing beats resolving issues in a systematic way, not through singing and dancing.Hoping for a good outcome.
Please mwebuteko don’t listen to these unionists.They are just worried about their loss in contributions.Stand your ground.We don’t want those monsters again.
@ shi mable – what do you call an american who is a qualified paralegal by virtue of his race?
Don’t meet at plot 1, there will be another funeral….
Finally Hikaumba has resurfaced from hibernation. He has chewed a lot of these nurses’s money so he should make sure that their grievances are addressed in their favour or else he should declare an industrial dispute.
All this mess was created by PF’s irresponsible statements meant to please the workers . No one will buy PF’s lies any more. If they don’t have any ways of responding to workers’ demands they should just shut up or tell the workers to engage their unions to negotiate instead of making promises they can not fulfil. All this knee jerk reaction from PF is a clear sign of how dull their leader is.
All Sata knows and enjoys is firing and hiring. Any thing beyond that is rocket for him. Ignorance breeds the worst form of arrogance.
Workers should never believe PF again.
@shi mable
I would rather have the nurses than the monster at state house.
Meanwhile, it’s been reported that the nurses are pleading with the govt for leniency. How does this affect unionism?
@St Jude
Brilliant strategy on part of the nurses. Let them do what ever it takes to get their jobs so that those who want to leave can raise enough money for their trip. 2016 is around the corner,they will get revenge their sweet sweet sweet revenge.
I guess it affects unionism in the sense that the union can help them with the plea for leniency? Just a thought.
Ati do not meet at state house, or else will have another funeral! Lol……
Remindsme ‘this train terminates here’ so once you meet at state house, then your life terminates….
As I see it,a dismissed employee in civil service cannot negotiate to return to work.Perhaps only one on suspension pending dismissal.Courts of law are the only recourse.
Mr.Hikaumba,who in the public service is not over worked?There is staff shortage in all ministries.Everyone is working over and above their call of duty.should they all strike?Zambia is a Third World country and the Treasury can only allow for so many on GRZ payroll.
There are so many unemployed people than those in formal employment,yet those with, at least, a guaranteed wage at the end of the month want even more than others and are willing to neglect those who are totally dependent on them to death through illegal strikes
In our situation,disorderly behavior must not be allowed to take root,or we get chaos
Please Don’t make promises you can’t keep.
Please government stand your ground.We know the dismissed nurses are more experienced but if they are not disciplined and professional in their conduct then they are as good as nothing.Weigh all the pros and cons and decide what is important at the end of the day.
The nurses are copying the indiscipline and the un professional way of doing things from Sata and his team.
Amenshi nga yaitika,ninshi yaloba.Those nurses they are not the only teeth in the mouth or the only fish in the river.If u bring them back,are they going to bring back those who died when they were on strike?Pliz,we don’t need those nurses,coz the are killers & nurses.They are money lover.
The killers are not nurses alone. Both Sata and the nurses are to blame for the deaths of those patients.
Nurses stop being arrogant!! Remember the pronouncements the you were making against the minister of Health. You belittled your minister to anything you may think of. Be professional and not to go to such extent of making ill pronouncements against your minister! A very heavy stone has now befallen on your feet and you have failed to remove it because of your conduct!!!
We all know that there is something that the government is supposed to do for you, but not through twisting its arms as you did!!!
Nurses are copying the arrogance from Sata.
Hiring new nurses, fresh from the farm, novices, no experience, no families of their own, at the expense of experienced ones, who understand all corners of their work practice, stable people with families to look after, really sounds a no brainer at basic. Its no different from KCM wanting shedding of a large number of its employee under funny pretence. What were these nurses asking for? Who started it and why did they start it. Did nurses promise themselves what they are demanding or govt gave them a promisory note? Everyone knows how govt has over spent on bye elections, over staffing of deputy ministers, wastage at constitution making process, utilisation of Euro Bond, pew many other misapplicatiion of public funds. Thats where their anger coming from. Do dismissals.
You are right that we have wasted billions of kwacha in useless things
There are still people who can think, thank God! Well said Chitalu
We blamed Chiluba for the mess under MMD. Now it is clear that Sata was the architect of the all the confussion we saw under chilubas leadership MHSRIP. That explain why FTJ could not anoint Sata. By the time sata leaves, Zambia will be another Zimbabwe. I am aware that PF activists lack logic and as usual will dis approve my posting
I support you on this one 100%.
Is this the same guy who used to put a black band arround his head during MMD rule. He has changed what has he been given.
Do not dismiss these nurses, the country needs them. They are not criminals. They are humble professionals. Just reinstate them i.to their jobs. You can transfer some, this can be an opportunity, but keep them on govt labour strength. We need them, these innocent patriotic nationals.
Hikaumba is one toothless man.He must just resign
That is the way Mr Hikaumba show your leadership this is a simple matter we are behind you spiritually and morally If the government became adamant declare a dispute and we will vote as government servants for a legal strike, they are very few to start persecuting us ……….. Don’t be afraid of the white faced Chishamender ….. He cant be insulting us with his white mouth that’s barbaric Let us unite to help our sisters,,,,,,, Be calm nurses this is a simple matter
we need these guys back at work..!!
say i need them not we.
Just because we don’t have enough nurses in the country shouldn’t force us to keep even those without a heart for patients.Who priorities singing and dancing at the expense of patients lives ? Those nurses broke the code of ethics and conduct.Its about time the bad eggs and elements were weeded out !!!
@Ghana
You approach to this issue is over simplistic. You are forgetting that there are two sides to this impasse. Sata on one side made a mistake to over promise. The nurses also made a huge mistake to believe any thing that Sata and his PF promises. Its not only the nurses at fault. Both the PF and nurses should share the blame for patient negligence.
WHAT A WEIRD REASON!
FIRSTLY WHERE HAS LENNARD BEEN ALL THIS TIME? WHY DIDN’T ZCTU TIMELY PLEAD WITH WORKERS TO RETURN TO WORK?
IN MY VIEW, IF ZCTU HAD WARNED NURSES THAT THEY WILL BE ON THEIR OWN SHOULD THEY BE DISMISSED, THEY SHOULD HAVE HAVE HEEDED THE CALL TO RETURN. BUT HH / UPND HAD ASSURED STRIKING WORKERS OF LEGAL REPRESENTATION SHOULD THEY BE FIRED LIKE HE DID TO TAXI DRIVERS .
SECONDLY, WHY SHOULD ANYONE, WHETHER ESSENTIAL OR NOT, GO ON ILLEGAL STRIKE BECAUSE OF DEPLORABLE CONDITIONS IN WHICH THEY SHE/SHE WORKS?
THIRDLY, WHICH EMPLOYER ANYWHERE IN THE WORLD, WOULD SUCCUMB TO CALLS OF REINSTATING DISMISSED WORKERS WITHOUT PRECONDITIONS? WHY CANT THEY SIMPLY RE-APPLY? THEN MINERS AND POLICE OFFICERS SHOULD ALSO STRIKE. THERE WILL BE NO ONE WORKING AT ALL.
@Luapula Premier
Illegal strike or not , the fact still remains ,both PF and nurses messed up big time. PF should not have lied to the nurses and the nurses should have believed Sata ‘s lies.
I meant to say nurses should not have believed Sata.
Going forward nurses and all other government workers more especially local government workers should be cautious about careless populist pronouncements from Sata and his Pathetic Followers. They not believe PF’ promises ever again.
May I be reminded here, were the PF promises only meant for nurses? and if those promises were not honored by PF government, did warrant illegal strike?
What an excuse of a union.The nurses ignored them in the first place when they advised them to go back to work and now they want to show that they have the powers ?
can someone guide me as to the difference between nurses and mineworkers. This is against the background managrment at the mine were not allowed to dismiss their striking workers
@analyst
The difference is miners are more organised than nurses. They can de-campaign Sata and PF on the Copper belt. Sata considers miners a political threat. Unlike nurses of whom the majority are women who believe most lies they are told.
The miners never went on an illegal strike.The miners always go on strike if the unions says so and they don`t kill patients because of their action.
dealing with wholays one needs to be brutal, thats what grz must do to deal with tusoswe who danced and ululated as our very important pipo of this land were dying in wards. How i wish the spirits of those died could haunt tusoswe for the rest of their tuma lives!!
How can anyone in his sane sense feel pit for such heartless tuma wholays. This ll give them(tusoswe) time to service the men they grab from other women properly.
@George Bush
Spot on. Thats exactly what Dr Kaseba did.
Nurses should emigrate to canada,uk and australia where they will be respected and earn good money,come back only when upnd takes over.some leaders still have village mentality.
@Puungwa, they clean old people’s back sides in Canada, UK and Australia – and in some cases are even made to retrain before they can qualify to practice as fully qualified nurses.
So, the grass out there is not as green as you think!
@Mayo Mpapa
But they earn more than Sata . It pays to wipe white man ‘s bum than a Zambians’ bum
Its all silly
The Secretary to the Cabinet will do nothing to change the status of dismissed nurses. The authority to dismiss them came from the higher authority and ZCTU should make an appointment with the president instead. Minister of Labour (Mr. Shamenda) should be equally be blamed for misleading them. I recall when they went on go slow two months ago the same minister assured them that government will attend to their demands in the following month and this did not happen hence the second strike. I have noticed inconsistences among the PF ministers. Minister of Health has categorically stated that nurses should reapply and be considered meaning there is a second chance for them to get back their jobs. Shamenda insists that the dismissal is final and non negotiable. What kind of confusion is this???
Forgive we can forgive, but we can’t forget insults hurled on Dr. Kasonde and Mr. Shamenda. We feel for the dismissed nurses as of them have been caught in this web because of mob psychology and sour influence from UPND.
The nurses were saying they didn’t care even if they got fired, so what has changed now? or may be they were just joking?
Morning Mr. Hikaumba, how was your sleep? I wish you had not slept when the illegal strike was raging!!!
These nurses have been unreasonable in my opinion. They were given a hefty increment immediately PF came to power despite other civil servants not receiving anything.
Nurses, pliz ur just certificate holders, u want to get more money than us the degree holders eg Human Resources officers, who are equally in health ministry, be reasonable
Welcome back Hikaumba. The millions of kwacha from the CRC must have kept you busy!