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Stop Misleading Sacked Nurses ‘Govt Pleaded for Them too Much’
THE labour movement and opposition political parties should allow the government to deal with the nurses who have been sacked for staging an illegal strike within the country’s laws.
There is no need to force the Ministry of Health to act outside the law to appease the nurses and their sympathisers.
The government had given the nurses enough time in which to call off their strike and report for work, but they defied all the directives and pleas.
Records are there to show that there were serious efforts to resolve the issues over which they were striking.
Tripartite meetings were held to assure the affected workers that their grievances were receiving active attention from the relevant Government wings, including the Ministry of Finance.
But the nurses remained adamant and continued with their strike, ignoring the hardships to which they were subjecting innocent patients.
The government had to mobilise medical and other health workers from other Government institutions, including the defence forces and nursing schools, to mitigate the impact of the strike.
All the pleas to the nurses to consider the plight of patients fell on deaf ears.
And some of the statements coming from some opposition political parties did little to help the striking workers. They in fact incited them to continue with their strike.
The strike dragged on for 10 days, and the government had to make a decision.
The fact that Government waited that long is an indication that it was not keen on disciplining the nurses but wanted the two parties to reach some agreement.
By the 10th day of the strike, the nurses knew that they had stretched their luck a trifle too far, and it was just a matter of time; the government was going to act.
The announcement of their dismissal could not therefore have come as a shock to them.
Even their own union had exhausted its efforts in its attempt to persuade them to return to work in the face of the Government’s willingness to resolve their problems.
Of course it is not pleasant for anyone to lose their job, but it is also important to realise that employers also have rights and powers which they can evoke should there be a need.
There is no need for the Zambia Congress of Trade Unions (ZCTU) to incite the nurses not to re-apply for their jobs as demanded by the government.
What ZCTU should bear in mind is that the nurses are in a very vulnerable position because they broke the law and defied their union leaders who are expected to defend them.
Surely the congress did not expect the government to allow the strike to go on forever.
It had to act to stamp its authority and re-assure the public that the health sector is functioning.
We believe that the dismissal of the nurses is an industrial relations issue between the employees, the nurses, and their employer, the government through the Ministry of Health.
As Minister of Labour and Social Security Fackson Shamenda has stated ZCTU is just making the circumstances more complicated for the now unemployed nurses by inciting them not to re-apply for their positions.
We believe that the government knows what it is doing, and has an obligation to ensure that the health sector continues providing quality care services to citizens.
Those nurses who have been dismissed should re-apply for their jobs because it is their source of livelihood. It is the wise thing to do. Those who are inciting them have jobs with fat salaries and allowances.
Posted by Editor
on December 7, 2013. Filed under LATEST NEWS.
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morris mudala
December 7, 2013 at 6:56 am
Anyway chabipa sana!!!it has come @ a time wen am getting enough money ku nchito zoona!!!!let others learn a lesson!!!!
wazanga
December 7, 2013 at 7:12 am
you asked for it ba nurse opposition will not serve you
kayula
December 7, 2013 at 7:20 am
Thanks to 7 medics from livingston who have apologzd thats the zambian way of solving the problems. may i appeal to other health workers who have been fired to apologz to the president and zambians. our president is a forgiving father. you know how you were meeting meet in the same manner and pliz apologz
bufufwa
December 7, 2013 at 7:33 am
Very stubborn nurses when there friends were busy working forgetting that there job need sacrifice just like police officers and soldiers.
DJ..CN
December 7, 2013 at 7:50 am
This a lesson 2 all workers in zambia stop going on strike.nurses u r important 2 us.u r not fired u wl go back 2 work soon.govt wnt 2 teach u a lesson.
shalom
December 7, 2013 at 9:47 am
the firing is ok,but lets look at another angle,people are dying like chickens now,the new nurses wil need experienced nurses to offer guidance,the attitude of nurses towards patients will be bad,further more other employeers wil take this action from government as an example.therefore this issue is not about nurses only but about all emplyees in zambia.investors tails wil grow longer now especially with the already pathetic conditions of service.lets pray for zambia.
JJJ BANDA
December 7, 2013 at 10:52 am
Who is the author of this article?
Blue Planet scientist
December 7, 2013 at 11:55 am
And if ZCTU threaten national security, it will just be Deregistered! Every Govt in the world should have an element of Dictatorship! Humans are naturally not normal! So ZCTU be careful with your dispensation.!!
Oaks
December 7, 2013 at 12:20 pm
Thats da way so nw u guys u go 2 da oppositon dey wil gve u wrk,our brothers nd sisters were nt tkc of bcoz of ur stuip games dats a gd lesson.
John Kanio Ka Winta
December 7, 2013 at 1:39 pm
cheap site for
panga fighters.
real yellow jenalist
December 7, 2013 at 2:42 pm
I can’t help but note that this is an anonymously written article. Why?
Kuboko
December 7, 2013 at 3:09 pm
Sure ba Tumfweko mulekula, u must hv bn 2sku. any article u publicise mst hv a SOURCE,hw cn we dvelop conefidence in yo info?
JOHN GILCHRIST
December 7, 2013 at 3:17 pm
THANKS VERY MUCH TO THE PF GOVERMENT FOR SUCKING THESE NURSES. NURSES ARE LIKE TEACHERS THEY THINK THEY ARE VERY EDUCATED, KWATI PALI NENCITO YAKUMONA AMALUSHI.
JOHN GILCHRIST
December 7, 2013 at 3:25 pm
IM VERY HAPPY, SOMEBODY NA CERTIFICATE YA FIRST AID ALEMEKA INCITO IN A POOR COUNTRY LIKE ZAMBIA. NOMBA TAMUMFWILE INSONI IMWE BA FIRST AIDER PANTU INE NAISHIBA UKUTI DOCTOR EWASAMBILILA NURSE CIMO NA HELPER.
Kuboko
December 7, 2013 at 3:38 pm
Iwe john G. Stop havng grudges against Teachaz, nurses,doctors &U ar products of teachaz.bt only in PF dey ar recognizd&ar quiet
Kuboko
December 7, 2013 at 3:54 pm
Teachers ar vry important,dey ar evryone’s role model d@ had been 2class yet dere importance had bn 4long negleted, bt since PF in Govt hv u Heard a teacha striking?
pygmy
December 7, 2013 at 4:40 pm
Moral questions:
1. is it ok for GRZ to fire nurses for going on strike illegally and threaten to withdraw Shoprite’s licence for firing workers you went on an illegal strike?
2. Is it ok to suspend Mary Tembo because she was being investigate for corruption and only fire Masumba after being convicted?
Ironically giving a gift to a chief is ok but giving it to a worker is corruption.
Just thinking???
juda
December 8, 2013 at 4:04 pm
important questions. Hope someone can answer.
Akaice ne fimina
December 9, 2013 at 1:08 am
Ba pygmy naimwe kuleni mu mano, nurses are essential workers and are not supposed to go on strike while Shoprite workers are not classified as essential. Nurses must resolve all their grievances through the Industrial Relations Court, not by striking. That is what is meant by being essential. Mwalitala amumfwapo ati ba police nabaya pa strike? Only in the movie “Robo Cop.” Ne fi fine ifya ba Mary Tembo tamuli sana ukutontonkanya. Isn’t there anything else that you can think of?
Narrant
December 7, 2013 at 5:15 pm
The ZCTU of Hikaumba and Mwaba is simply trash! A compromised lot, that’s all they are!
JOHN GILCHRIST
December 7, 2013 at 5:23 pm
ABENA KUBOKO IM NOT HAVING GRUDGES AGAINST NURSES AND TEACHERS BUT WE HAVE TO FACE FACTS. BA KUBOKO ALA WE ARE ALL IMPORTANT REGARDLESS OF WHAT YOU DO, EVEN A SANITATION OFFICER IS IMPORTANT, SO ONE SHOULD NOT BE PROUD OF WHAT HE OR SHE IS COZ WE ARE EQUALY IMPORTANT TO ONE ANOTHER.
pichu
December 7, 2013 at 5:24 pm
do you need experience to work as a nurse?
JOHN GILCHRIST
December 7, 2013 at 5:31 pm
PICHU EVEN A PERSON WHO IS NOT TRAINED CAN WORK AS A NURSE. YOU DO NOT NEED EXPERIENCE. THOSE ARE DOCTORS HELPERS. THATS WHY THE GOVERMENT DECIDED TO FIRE THEM AND EMP0LOYE THE SCHOOL LEAVERS.
kitoki
December 8, 2013 at 11:54 am
you ve never been admitted in hospital. Thats why you can talk like that. Time will tell. Just wait patiently
ChiKA
December 7, 2013 at 6:24 pm
What the PF is doing is not only to punish the fired nurses, but to intimidate other civil servants. The nurses were wrong, but again dialogue is not known by PF, remember how they reacted when Shoprite fired those striking employees?
haiggy
December 7, 2013 at 9:56 pm
awe mwandi tusoswe twaliya sana,let them dance again in front of muvi tv while our beloved brothers and sisters are dying.
Those sympathising with nurses are marely politicing and not sympathising with nurses. Ala bane utuma hule utu tusoswe twalibipa imitima. Them thot its the way they carry on with their prostitution
cecil
December 8, 2013 at 9:29 am
@John Gilchrist ar u sure even sum1 without experience cn b a nurse?U pipo u thic nursin z o abt givin panadols?Hesh stop actin lyk uneducated person.
666
December 8, 2013 at 12:42 pm
Ba tumfweko update us plz.
GERSHOM
December 8, 2013 at 12:55 pm
if GOD can easily forgive our transgressions let the government forgive all fired nurses.
student
December 8, 2013 at 4:07 pm
i think john G has a point..nurses think they are more knowledgeable that than doctors and yet they’ve only been to school for months to be taught how to give panodos to patients.shame on you dull ones!
fwala jombo
December 9, 2013 at 4:50 pm
IWE NURSE UNAONAKO MU SODIER KUYENDA PA STRICK WATCH OUT LIFE SEVER KUYENDA PA STRICK SHAMONAKO!