Zimbabwean teachers, health workers end strike

Zimbabwean teachers, nurses and doctors have ended their strike over pay delays, with business back to normal at public schools and hospitals on Friday.

This followed the payment of teachers on Thursday and nurses and doctors on Friday.

The cash-strapped government postponed teachers' June salaries to July 7 and that of nurses and doctors to July 14, but it was forced to bring forward the pay date for health workers to July 8 following the strike which had crippled service delivery at public hospitals.

The state-run Herald newspaper on Friday quoted the president of the Zimbabwe Teachers Association Richard Gundani as saying that all teachers were expected return to work Friday.

The Zimbabwe Nurses Association also urged nurses to report for duty as soon as they get their salaries.

"As soon as they get paid they should report for duty," the association's secretary general Enock Dongo was quoted as saying.

The teachers embarked on a three-day strike Tuesday this week, joining their counterparts in the health sector who downed tools last week.

The industrial action saw schools and hospitals turning away pupils and patients, forcing government to appeal for assistance from army medical personnel.

The Zimbabwean government has been struggling to pay its workers on time since last year due to cash flow challenges. Endit