Nurses at United Bulawayo Hospitals (UBH) have joined a three-day strike that began in Harare at Sally Mugabe Central Hospital, expanding industrial action that is now spreading to other parts of the country.
The strike, initially concentrated in the capital, has now gained momentum as health workers in Bulawayo confirmed their participation in solidarity with colleagues in Harare. A nurse at UBH said the decision was meant to show unity across the public health sector.
“The strike was only in Harare because that’s where the head offices are, but we have also joined to show we are in support of the strike happening in Harare,” the nurse told ZimNow over the phone.
At Sally Mugabe Central Hospital, striking nurses said they would not report for duty during the three-day action, insisting they were awaiting a meaningful response from government.
“We will not be reporting for duty in hospital wards from today until our three-day strike concludes, as we await a response from government,” the nurses said.
Some health workers have also indicated plans to stage protests within hospital premises, a move that signals the possibility of a wider escalation in industrial action across the health sector.
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The nurses say repeated engagements with authorities have failed to produce tangible improvements in their working conditions and salaries. They argue that the cost of living has made it increasingly difficult to continue reporting for duty.
“We can no longer afford even basic transport to come to work. Our salaries have been eroded to nothing,” one nurse said.
The strike is also expected to spread further, with reports that nurses at Shurugwi District Hospital are preparing to join the action.
“We are set to join the strike because it affects all of us and government should think of us,” another nurse told ZimNow.
The growing industrial action threatens to disrupt already strained public health services, which continue to face shortages of staff, medicines, and essential equipment.
Health workers have long demanded that their salaries be pegged to the United States dollar, arguing that local currency earnings have been rapidly eroded by inflation.
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