Striking doctors take fight to the High Court

By Tichaona Sibanda

25 July 2006

The country’s striking junior doctors have taken their fight against government to the High Court after the Ministry of Health failed to respond to their 24-hour ultimatum.On Monday, the junior doctors, through their lawyer Derrick Sigauke of Mavhunga and Associates, had demanded that government repeal a new law that instructs the medical and dental practitioners’s council not to issue certificates of good standing.

Dr Kuda Nyamutukwa, the President of the Hospitals Doctors Association told Newsreel today a certificate of good standing is a recommendation letter that doctors use to look for jobs in and outside the country.

As government is facing a serious crisis in the medical field with the exodus of doctors seeking greener pastures the ministry of Health, as a stop gap measure, came up with the piece of legislation that allows the medical and dental practitioners’ council to withhold certificates of good standing to all junior doctors.

Dr Nyamutukwa explained that government does not have a legal basis for withholding the certificates and the doctors had therefore given them an ultimatum to withdraw that legislation.

That piece of legislation has apparently became a political vortex in the fight between the doctors and government. Dr Nyamutukwa insists the new law has to be scrapped for the doctors to return to work.

‘This is a battle for our lives. And in a battle you win some and lose some, but in this case we can’t lose everything. There can be dialogue on the issue of car loans and salaries as we are willing to negotiate on that but we will stand our ground on the issue of certificates of good standing,’ Nyamutukwa said.

As the strike enters week three on Wednesday, there are fears government has issued a media blackout on the industrial action. Since Saturday all state media outlets have ignored the strike, raising suspicion that an order was issued not to report on anything surrounding the three week strike.

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