Doctors demand better pay as inflation bites

Doctors at two of Zimbabwe's largest referral hospitals have embarked on an indefinite strike, demanding a pay rise of more than 100 percent and a special allocation to cover escalating fuel costs caused by the ongoing petrol shortage. Junior and mid-level doctors at Harare's Parirenyatwa and Central hospitals vowed on Wednesday not to resume work until the government had met their demands. "In view of the unprecedented inflationary trends, we are saying we need an immediate review of our salaries. We also need to be given fuel, like senior doctors, so that we can travel to work and take care of patients without any hassles with transport," said Takaruda Chinyoka, a spokesman for the Hospital Doctors Association (HDA). Doctors were also demanding land on which they could build homes in urban areas. "Like most civil servants, we demand that we be granted stands and enough funds to purchase personal cars under the [government's] car loan scheme. Most junior and middle-level doctors have no cars, and this makes life more than complicated for most of us, as professionals, who have to tend to patients," Chinyoka told IRIN. He alleged the government was treating medical practitioners like semiskilled or unskilled workers, and pointed out that the rate of absenteeism at work was growing because doctors either failed to get transport to work or spent days in winding fuel queues - a situation Chinyoka said was compromising service delivery in the health sector. Health Minster David Parirenyatwa expressed disappointment with the striking doctors, saying they should have sought an amicable solution with his office before embarking on strike action. "I am actually surprised to hear that [the doctors have gone on strike]. They did not follow protocol, but appropriate action will be taken soon," he warned. But Chinyoka maintained that previous negotiations with the health ministry had not yielded the desired results. One doctor, who spoke to IRIN on condition of anonymity, warned that if urgent steps were not taken to resolve the issue, people's lives could be endangered, as state hospitals, already struggling with a shortage of skilled personnel, were operating with a skeleton staff. He revealed that doctors from other towns and cities were also ready to join the strike. "Others will definitely join us [on Thursday] ... It's an unfortunate decision we had to make, but we resolved that downing tools was the only language the government understood," he noted. Zimbabwe's ailing health sector has experienced regular industrial action in the past few years as nurses and doctors pressed for better salaries. Many of the more highly qualified personnel have quit their jobs for better paying ones in neighbouring countries like South Africa and Botswana, while others have opted to emigrate to European countries. Meanwhile, state radio announced on Wednesday that the Zimbabwe Medical Association (ZIMA), an association of mostly specialist medical practitioners, had increased its consultation fees by between 30 percent and 40 percent.