Zimbabwe president sacks thousands of striking nurses

Zimbabwean government has fired 16,000 nurses who were on strike to demand higher salaries, in a hard-line response to growing labour arrest by the country’s new leadership. 

The nurses walked out on Monday over unpaid allowances and other issues, leaving hospitals understaffed. The action came days after junior doctors wrapped up a month-long walkout over pay and working conditions.

Several thousand nurses were sacked in a terse statement issued on Tuesday evening by Vice President Constantino Chiwenga, who accused the strikers of being “politically motivated” and said they would be replaced by retired and unemployed staff. 

Patients were turned away from major hospitals this week after the nurses began their industrial action, weeks after doctors had ended their own strike.

Government has decided in the interest of patients and of saving lives to discharge all the striking nurses with immediate effect” Chiwenga said in a statement.

The nurses' union told its members to stay calm as it considered its response..

The Zimbabwe Teachers Union, which itself has threatened to go on strike next month over poor pay, said the government should rescind its "inhuman and unilateral decision." A doctors and lawyers union said the government decision was illegal.