News / Local
Harare Residents Trust probed council over suspension of nurses
31 May 2016 at 07:13hrs | Views
Harare Residents Trust has probed the Harare City Council over reports that nurses had been suspended for asking for their salaries.
They directed the questions to Prosper Chonzi, City of Harare Director of Health Services official during a meeting.
The HRT sought clarification from him concerning reports that 'nurses had been suspended for asking about their salaries. He had this to say concerning the situation.
"That's not true. But I have lifted the suspension. The director of health is not directly responsible for the payment of salaries. It is done by Human Resources and finance. The nurses left their work stations without proper authorisation which resulted in patients including pregnant women and children suffering. That is where I came in. Health is an essential service so it should not be disrupted. I have no problem with people excising their rights for as long as they also consider the plight of the suffering residents," Chonzi.
Asked about the anger among City employees concerning their salaries, Chonzi said:
"That is true and understandable. They have not been paid for a long time and are suffering. It is really difficult to lead such a team of demotivated people. Most of them are very dedicated but have no choice. We just have to strike a balance between service delivery and staff welfare."
The HRT believes that the situation needs to be handled in a cautious and professional manner so that nurses, among other employees, whose salaries remain outstanding for six months, are not unnecessarily victimised for standing up for their rights.
"At the same time we hope that patients should be treated with dignity and not be exposed to dangers at the hands of the disgruntled nurses. Even if the salaries are delayed, the fact remains that they know that the City of Harare owes them, and will have to find the money to pay them in full, meaning the employees must not forget that the money comes from the ratepayers, their patients," said the trust.
They directed the questions to Prosper Chonzi, City of Harare Director of Health Services official during a meeting.
The HRT sought clarification from him concerning reports that 'nurses had been suspended for asking about their salaries. He had this to say concerning the situation.
"That's not true. But I have lifted the suspension. The director of health is not directly responsible for the payment of salaries. It is done by Human Resources and finance. The nurses left their work stations without proper authorisation which resulted in patients including pregnant women and children suffering. That is where I came in. Health is an essential service so it should not be disrupted. I have no problem with people excising their rights for as long as they also consider the plight of the suffering residents," Chonzi.
Asked about the anger among City employees concerning their salaries, Chonzi said:
"That is true and understandable. They have not been paid for a long time and are suffering. It is really difficult to lead such a team of demotivated people. Most of them are very dedicated but have no choice. We just have to strike a balance between service delivery and staff welfare."
The HRT believes that the situation needs to be handled in a cautious and professional manner so that nurses, among other employees, whose salaries remain outstanding for six months, are not unnecessarily victimised for standing up for their rights.
"At the same time we hope that patients should be treated with dignity and not be exposed to dangers at the hands of the disgruntled nurses. Even if the salaries are delayed, the fact remains that they know that the City of Harare owes them, and will have to find the money to pay them in full, meaning the employees must not forget that the money comes from the ratepayers, their patients," said the trust.
Source - Byo24News
