The Zimbabwean government on Friday says it has so far fired 435 junior doctors at public hospitals for engaging in an illegal strike.

The doctors have been on strike since early September to demand better pay and improved working conditions.

The Labour Court in October declared the strike illegal, but the doctors have been defiant and continued with the strike, paralysing operations at major public health institutions in the country.

The Health Service Board has 45 more disciplinary cases to handle for the doctors.

Acting information minister, Mangaliso Ndlovu told reporters at a news briefing that the government has always been open to dialogue with the doctors and that firing them was a last resort.