MBABANE – Healthcare workers have resolved to stop all on-call and standby duties from July 1 if government fails to pay their outstanding allowances by the end of this month.
The resolution is contained in a letter addressed to the principal secretary (PS) in the Ministry of Health following a meeting between ministry officials and healthcare workers on Monday.
The health workers include nurses, doctors, radiology, pharmacy, laboratory and anaesthetic.
According to the letter, healthcare workers claim they were informed that on-call and standby allowances for the period October 2025 to March 2026 would not be paid together with June salaries, as has been the norm.
The workers described the arrangement as unilateral, unacceptable and lacking sufficient justification.
They subsequently resolved that all healthcare professionals participating in on-call and standby duties across the country’s health facilities would cease providing such services if the allowances were not paid on or before June 30.
“All healthcare workers participating in on-call and standby duties have unanimously resolved that on July 1, they will cease honouring such duties if due allowances are not paid on or before June 30, 2026,” reads part of the letter.
The workers stated that they had exercised patience despite months of waiting for payment and difficult working conditions within public health facilities.
They said healthcare professionals continued to provide services under chronic staff shortages, exhaustion among workers, drug stock-outs and deteriorating conditions in some facilities.
The employees argued that failure to pay the allowances was undermining the sacrifices made by frontline workers, who continue to keep the health system functioning despite numerous challenges.
They urged the ministry to urgently intervene and settle the claims before the end of the month to avoid disruption of services.
The workers warned that continued delays could have serious consequences for an already strained public healthcare system.
“This issue demands your immediate and undivided attention. We urge your office to address this matter urgently and rectify it without delay,” they stated.
The latest threat marks yet another chapter in a long-running dispute between government and healthcare workers over the payment of on-call and standby allowances.
The issue has surfaced repeatedly in recent years and has, on several occasions, threatened the provision of emergency medical services in public health facilities.
In June 2024, healthcare workers issued a similar notice after learning that allowances for the period October 2023 to March 2024 would not be included in their June salaries.
They resolved to stop working nights and weekends if government failed to honour the payments.
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