Police in Zimbabwe on Monday arrested at least a dozen nurses for holding a protest outside state hospitals.
The nurses were demanding payment of improved salaries and that those payment be made in the US dollar.
The Zimbabwe Nurses Association said “At least 13 of our members and union leaders were arrested during the demonstration at Harare hospital.”
“They are in police cells as we speak but we don’t know what charges they are facing,” the association’s president Enock Dongo told AFP news agency.
The nurses held placards reading “No U.S. dollar no work” and “#Nurses can’t breath.”
According to them they cannot survive on a monthly salary of 3,000 Zimbabwe dollars ($47).
The health workers arrested are expected appear in court on Tuesday, according to the union leaders.
Zimbabwe is facing major economic crisis and government announced a 50% salary hike for state employees last month.
There was a $75 allowance for three months as well but workers say the increases have not reflected yet.
Zimbabwe’s inflation rate stands at 785%, one of the highest in the world, while businesses charge in U.S. dollars.
Source: Africafeeds.com
