This research focuses specifically on precarious work in the public health sector in two countries in Southern Africa namely; South Africa and Zimbabwe adds more depth to the subject of precarious work. It is important to underscore the fact that despite being a stable employer; the public health sector has undergone dramatic changes in several African countries in the past three decades due, in part to the neo-liberal policies adopted in various countries in the 1980s. This has been heightened; to a certain extent, by the growing need for a market-friendly economy which implies a reduced role of the state in national economic management. Nonetheless, this sector continues to employ a significant number of persons with varying rates according to the levels of economic development and the role played by the State in the production of goods and services in many countries in Africa.