HARARE
–
Nurses
at
Sally
Mugabe
Central
Hospital,
formerly
Harare
Hospital,
briefly
walked
out
on
Friday
protesting
low
salaries
that
they
say
no
longer
cover
basic
living
costs
following
a
sharp
rise
in
fuel
prices.
The
placard-waving
nurses
sang
and
danced
outside
the
hospital,
demanding
salary
adjustments
in
line
with
the
rising
cost
of
living
after
petrol
increased
to
US$2.17
per
litre
from
$1.52
last
month.
The
increases
have
pushed
up
transport
fares
and
food
prices,
deepening
pressure
on
already
strained
incomes.
The
Zimbabwe
Nurses
Association
said
nurses
were
getting
just
ZiG500
(about
$15)
in
transport
allowances,
but
some
were
now
paying
$6
for
their
daily
commute.
“Nurses
want
to
work
but
coming
to
work
is
now
a
challenge,”
said
Belcred
Farai
Matsiwe,
ZINA’s
Sally
Mugabe
Hospital
representative.
Kumbirai
Maresva,
ZINA’s
provincial
organising
secretary
for
Harare,
said
the
nurses
had
resolved
to
boycott
night
duty
until
the
allowance
was
reviewed.
The
allowance
is
currently
less
than
$50,
Maresva
said,
and
nurses
want
this
reviewed
upwards
to
at
least
$200.
“We
have
agreed
to
work
from
7AM
to
4PM.
For
night
duties
we
agreed
that
to
stop
coming
to
work.
The
night
duty
allowance
doesn’t
make
sense,”
Maresva
said.
He
maintained
that
nurses
were
not
on
strike
but
“want
a
way
forward
because
of
the
pain
they
are
going
through.”
Nurses
in
Zimbabwe
earn
about
$450
per
month,
paid
as
a
mix
of
United
States
dollars
and
ZiG.
The
protest
comes
as
economic
pressures
intensify
across
Zimbabwe,
with
public
sector
workers
increasingly
vocal
over
wages
amid
inflationary
shocks
linked
to
global
supply
disruptions.
George
Charamba,
the
presidency
spokesman,
urged
calm,
saying
the
government
was
aware
of
the
situation
and
working
on
a
response.
“Patience,
patience
macomrades:
Good
tidings
are
coming
both
on
the
fuel
front
and
salaries
for
civil
servants.
The
government
is
fully
aware
of
the
pressures
its
workforce
faces,
particularly
in
the
wake
of
disturbances
in
the
Middle
East,”
he
wrote
on
X,
adding
that
a
review
of
wages
and
salaries
was
already
due.