HARARE – Nurses have declared strikes from Monday, April 20, to Wednesday, April 22, after accusing the government of reneging on salary improvement promises made to avert an earlier threatened strike.
Zimbabwe Nurses Association president Enock Dongo said the April 2026 pay cycle had delivered increases so meagre they amounted to “a mere token that cannot be taken seriously,” falling far short of undertakings made by the employer following a strike notice served on March 26.
Nurses previously earned $290 and ZiG3,500 before the government added ZiG1,500 to their April salaries – an improvement of about $46.
The new strike dates replace the original April 15-17 window.
ZINA said members outside urban centres had requested more preparation time, prompting the three-day extension. The strike will span all provinces and all districts.
Hospital, district and provincial leaders have been directed to mobilise their members, with ZINA urging a unified front.
“Isolated demonstrations are not as effective as a nationwide act,” Dongo said.
In a separate letter to the Health Service Commission secretary Dr Christopher Pasi, ZINA formally cancelled the March 26 notice – which had been the subject of engagement with the employer – and advised that “a new and imminent notice” should be expected. That notice, it now emerges, is the April 14 circular.
ZINA said the latest pay review was “wholly inadequate” and demonstrated that “the employer has not and, in fact, does not intend to meet the expectations of its employees,” despite engagement and promises following the initial notice.
Nurses are demanding a wholesale review of their salaries after fuel price increases in March raised the cost of transport and other services.
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