Perennial strikes expose chronic failures in the healthcare sector

Medics protesting outside the Parlaiment Building demanding better remuneration terms on May 27, 2024 . [File, Standard]

Recurring strikes by healthcare workers across the country are increasingly being cited as evidence of a failing health system, with experts warning that chronic underfunding, weak governance and lack of political prioritisation continue to paralyse service delivery.

The failure to reform human resource management in the sector has left patients bearing the brunt of prolonged industrial action, with little indication of swift resolution from authorities. Clinical officers countrywide are on strike. Nurses, meanwhile, have issued a seven-day strike notice demanding implementation of the 2017 return-to-work formula and the conclusion of negotiations on their 2017 Collective Bargaining Agreement (CBA).