Nurses in demo over grading system

doctors

Paidamoyo Chipunza, Harare Bureau
THERE is chaos in the health services sector’s remuneration system, which has seen nurses being all lumped in grade D1, the entry grade for the civil service, despite their qualifications and experience.

This means that many senior nurses, degreed nurses and junior nurses have been earning the same salaries, with the senior workers sometimes earning far less than their juniors like sweepers.

The health workers yesterday demonstrated against the Health Services Board secretariat, calling for its dissolution after it repeatedly failed to implement agreed positions from collective bargaining platforms in line with their conditions of service.

In particular, the workers demanded the ouster of two senior directors responsible for their conditions of service and human resources.

The workers, comprising mostly nurses, sang, danced and waved placards inscribed with different messages to do with the board’s alleged  inefficiencies and further threatened to hold similar demonstrations every Tuesday until their grievances were addressed.

In a petition handed over to HSB board member Mrs Tendai Watungwa during the demonstration, which took place at HSB offices housed at Parirenyatwa Group of Hospitals’ premises, the employees said the board failed to grade them accordingly since 2009, resulting in many senior staffers earning less than their juniors.

“Health workers would like to express their disgruntlement over the inefficiencies displayed by the HSB since its inception,” reads part of the petition signed by the health workers’ Apex Council.

“This is revealed by their non-compliance to implement policy issues and agreed positions reached at collective bargaining fora.”

In particular, the workers said cadres such as senior sisters, junior sisters and degreed nurses were all lumped up in grade D1, which was the entry grade for the civil service.

This, according to them, had seen nurse managers and educators earning less than general hands, regardless of the qualifications and responsibilities they had.

“It is pathetic for such senior personnel to be rewarded way below a sweeper who works in the X-ray department,” the nurses said. “All other cadres in the system earn more than the nurse managers and tutors.”

They said they raised the anomaly in 2015 and proposed a starting allowance of $200 for sisters-in-charge, but nothing was done.

“We were told that Treasury was delaying the process, only to realise that it was not in the picture of such a request,” the nurses said.

They accused the HSB of making errors repeatedly, only to rectify them after engagement by workers’ representatives.

For instance, they said when night duty allowances were increased from $3 to $50, nurses were paid $25 until their representatives intervened and the error was rectified.

Health workers Apex Council chairperson Mr Panganayi Chivese, who accompanied Zimbabwe Nurses Association secretary general Mr Enok Dongo to hand over the petition to HSB, said issues raised by nurses were not peculiar to the profession alone, but affected all professionals in public service.

In a statement released in response to the workers’ plight, HSB said it was already working on some of the issues raised by the nurses.

It said after noting possibilities of having omitted some people in the harmonisation exercise, it was agreed at a health service bipartite meeting held last week that a validation exercise of qualifications be conducted, results of which would be used to correct the anomalies.

“As agreed at the BNP meeting, the exercise will be led by the HSB, the Ministry of Health and Child Care and the BNP members,” said HSB.

In relation to senior heath workers earning less than their juniors, HSB said the lowest paid member in the health services sector earned a salary of $375, made up of a basic salary, housing and transport allowance, while nurse managers earned $526 also inclusive of housing and transport allowances.

The HSB said other allowances such as on-call and night duty varied from person to person and from time to time, depending on a specific service given.

“The Health Service Board is in constant discussion with the Treasury to lobby for the payment of these and other allowances,” the board said.

You Might Also Like

Comments