NURSES in Zimbabwe will return to work today after their union called an end to industrial action.

The bitter strike over pay and conditions escalated when Zimbabwe Vice President Constantino Chiwenga issued a notice last week sacking 15,000 nurses.

Mr Chiwenga branded the strikes “politically motivated,” saying that the government had allocated $17 million (£12m) to pay outstanding allowances that were the source of the dispute.

In a letter sent to its members on Saturday the Zimbabwe Nurses Association (Zina) said that it was regrettable that the strike action had become “highly politicised,” portraying the union in a bad light.

It said that negotiations with the employer had not taken place since Mr Chiwenga’s intervention as the nurses were deemed to have been dismissed.

Zina said that a planned meeting with government ministers to try to resolve the dispute over the weekend had not happened, with the union’s case to reverse the dismissals scheduled to be heard in court.

“We therefore encourage all our members to report on duty by Monday,” the letter concluded.