ZAMBIA’S UNION URGES STRIKE RESOLUTION
Jun 23rd, 2009 by admin
Zambia’s biggest trade union has urged the government to intervene and halt a prolonged nurses’ strike that has led to the shutdown of several hospital wards. Hundreds of patients have been turned away from hospitals owing to a strike that entered its 17th day yesterday. Roy Mwaba, general secretary of the Zambia Congress of Trade Unions said that in many hospitals the situation has become a ‘disaster’. He called on the government to resolve the problem immediately. Nurses have been demanding a 25 per cent salary increase, and the government has offered them 15 per cent. The government says the strike is illegal and has urged the striking nurses to resume work. Junior nurses earn an average of 300 US dollars per month.
