530 Junoir doctors have been suspended for striking illegally. The Health Services Board (HSB) suspended the doctors with immediate effect after they refused to go back to work earlier this week.
The suspension letter from HSB executive director, Ms Ruth Kaseke, to the doctors.
“This letter serves to advise you that in terms of section 6 (1) of the Labour (National Employment code of conduct) Regulations Statutory Instrument 15 of 2006 (the code), you are hereby suspended from duty for a period of 14 days from the date on which this notice is served,
This suspension is premised on the fact that you did not report for duty from 01 December 2018 to 22 December 2018 and, additionally on other dates subsequent thereto whilst participating in collective job action, which has since been declared upon by the Labour Court to be unlawful under case number LC/H/APP/1025/18 dated 22 December 2018.
Section 104(3) as read with section 102 of that Act (Labour Act) prohibits persons engaged in an essential service from engaging in collective job action and the Labour [Declaration of Essential Services] Notice 2003 declared doctors, radiographers and other person engaged in health service, to be persons engaged in an essential service.
Consequently, your engagement in collective job action as aforesaid was thus unlawful.
Your suspension is without pay and benefits and while you are on suspension you are prohibited from continued attendance at the workplace or continued performance of your duties, as the case may be, as this may be conducive to unbecoming or indecorous behaviour or may lead to further instances of collective job action or other acts of misconduct, or hinder or interfere with investigations into your misconduct or the gathering of evidence relating thereto.
The Junoir doctors started their strike on 1 December demanding salaries in USD. The HSB approached the labour court which ruled that the strike was illegal and thereafter, demanded that the doctors return to work or risk disciplinary action. The doctors refused, accusing the HSB of acting in bad faith.
More: The Herald
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