With a strike by Zimbabwean hospital doctors heading into its fourth week, bolstered by the additional participation of nurses similarly demanding increased pay, a leading health care activist said Harare must address the grievances of such workers.

Community Working Group on Health Executive Directgor Itai Rusike the government must tackle the issue seriously or such industrial actions will crop up every year.

Rusike said Health Minister David Parirenyatwa and the Health Services Board must commit to improving salaries and working conditions in the health sector.

Though he said his group did not want to take a position on the labor dispute, Rusike commented in an interview with reporter Ndimyake Mwakalyele of VOA's Studio 7 for Zimbabwe that it is time that authorities dealt with the situation once and for all.

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