Health workers call off strike

Health workers have called off their nationwide strike following an injunction the government obtained on Monday.

However, health rights activists have urged the government to use the time to resolve the issues raised by the protesters.

Medical workers in public health facilities started a nationwide sit-in on Monday to push the government to address several grievances, including special allowances and improved conditions of service.

Physicians Assistants Union of Malawi (Paum) president Solomon Chomba confirmed in an interview yesterday that the union has advised members to resume work to avoid being in contempt of court.

“We have resumed work, but we are planning to challenge the injunction,” he said, without elaborating further.

When contacted for information, National Organisation of Nurses and Midwives of Malawi (Nonm) president Shouts Simeza said he was in a meeting and promised to revert later.

He had not responded by press time yesterday.

The sit-in forced hospitals to operate with skeletal staff, resulting in many patients being returned home without receiving medical care. The organisers and union leaders said medical workers would treat patients with critical conditions.

Reacting to the developments in an interview yesterday, health activist Judith Pangani commended the health workers for ending the strike.

She said: “We know that demonstrations do not always solve the problems. The health workers are justified to go on strike, but the government might not have the resource envelope to address those needs.

“So, in the meantime, the government should try to address what they can before the people vacate their injunction.”

Agreeing with Pangani, newly-inaugurated International Coalition on Health Financing Advocacy (Ichfa) chairperson  Maziko Matemba said the government should honour the commitment it made to the health workers during the current negotiations.

The negotiations were reportedly at an advanced stage before news of Vice-President Saulo Chilima’s death in a plane crash broke on Monday.

Maziko said the government should not take any punitive action against the people who were demonstrating.

He said: “People do extraordinary things during demonstrations. The government should show maturity by not targeting the people who participated in the demonstrations.”