Zimbabwe assures fair hearing for doctors returning to work

The Ministry of Health has assured doctors who are returning to work that they will receive fair hearing as the consultants that they requested would be part of the tribunals.

Zimbabwe’s doctors went on strike on 1 December last year and started returning to work yesterday though the Zimbabwe Hospital Doctors Association which represents them insisted that they would not be returning to work until their grievances were met.

The Ministry of Information today released the numbers of doctors who had returned to work but when people started questioning the information the ministry posted a series of videos of the doctors at work.

This evening the Ministry of Health issued a statement saying it wanted to clarify inaccurate and misleading information that was being fed to doctors.

It said that the misleading information was that doctors returning to work and were subject to disciplinary procedures would be severely dealt with and summarily dismissed.

“While we cannot predetermine outcomes of the disciplinary procedure, we would like to assure all affected that fair and transparent disciplinary producers are and will continue to be carried out,” the ministry said.

“As per the request by the affected doctors, their consultants have been incorporated into the hearings as part of the tribunals and as observers to demonstrate transparency and fairness of the disciplinary procedures.

“For those who resume duty, provisions for applying for advances on their salaries are still in place and have not been withdrawn.

“Ministry therefore encourages affected doctors to subject themselves to due process and appreciate the commitment of those who have presented themselves for this process,” the ministry said.

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