Striking junior and senior resident doctors at Zimbabwean state-run hospitals in Harare and Bulawayo said Monday they would return to work Tuesday following the receipt of government bank deposits in their accounts over the weekend. Other health care workers and hospital support staff returned to work last Thursday.
The residents had demanded that their monthly salaries be increased to at least Z$70 million plus car loans of US$3,000. It was not clear whether the government met those demands - a representative of doctors said he could not disclose how much was paid to the residents because negotiations with the Health Minister are still in progress.
Hospital Doctors Association President Amon Siveregi told reporter Carole Gombakomba of VOA's Studio 7 for Zimbabwe that the residents' decision to return to wards was also prompted by the knowledge that patients were suffering.