Hospital closes as nurses join strike

Zambia’s largest hospital began shutting down wards on Thursday, as a strike by thousands of civil servants continued to cripple government services. About 90 percent of Zambia’s 90,000 civil servants embarked on the strike on 28 May, demanding that their salaries be doubled and their working conditions be improved. The government has offered 35 percent increases, the Associated Press reported. The University Teaching Hospital closed 10 wards and patients were transferred to other wards, because nurses and paramedics were on strike, the hospital’s spokeswoman Pauline Mbangweta said. Several other hospitals have reported an increase in death rates as a result of the strike and many schools remain shut because teachers are staying away from work. The Lusaka city council’s unionised workers, including grave diggers, refuse collectors and fire-fighters, stopped work, saying they had not been paid salaries for three months.