Modest pay rise for civil servants

By Felex Share (03/02/10)

Government has offered civil servants a 10 percent salary increment across the board effective April this year as its negotiations with civil servants ended in another stalemate yesterday.

The proposed increment will see State employees taking home an extra US$16,94 from their current average monthly salary of US$160.

Civil servants’ representatives immediately rejected the offer and called on all Government workers to attend a joint rally to be held in the Harare Gardens on Friday morning to map the way forward.

This will be followed by another collective civil servants’ rally in Bulawayo on Monday.

Civil servants’ representatives who attended yesterday’s National Joint Negotiating Council meeting with the Government revealed that their employer had said it would spend an additional US$4 million on salaries starting this April.

There are about 236 000 State employees in Zimbabwe, meaning this comes to just below US$17 each.

“Government has decided to insult us by giving the civil service US$4 million as an increment starting from April and this is ridiculous,” said Teachers’ Union of Zimbabwe chief executive officer Manuel Nyawo.

Public Service Association president Mrs Cecilia Alexander said the course of action they would take would be made public on Friday.

“We will publicise what we are going to do next come Friday and we are inviting all civil servants to be there so that we operate in unison,” said Mrs Alexander.

Zimta president Mrs Tendai Chikowore urged all civil servants to attend the rallies because the decision they were about to make was a “bold one”.

“There was no movement on the part of Government and we are urging all civil servants to come on board as we announce what we will do following the expiry of our ultimatum without any action from Government,” said Mrs Chikowore.

Civil servants gave their employer a 14-day notice to go on strike about two weeks ago.

The notice lapsed yesterday.

Progressive Teachers’ Union of Zimbabwe secretary-general Mr Raymond Majongwe said Government had not shown any commitment to addressing their plight.

“We have finally run out of patience and come Friday people must expect fireworks because we are tired of being neglected by our employers,” he said.

Efforts to get a comment from Mr Price Mupazviriho, who represented Government at yesterday’s talks, were fruitless as his mobile phone was not reachable.

Mr Mupazviriho is the Secretary for Youth Development, Indigenisation and Empowerment.

Public Service Minister Eliphas Mukonoweshuro referred all questions to the ministry’s permanent secretary, Mrs Constance Chigwamba, saying he was still to be briefed on the outcome of the meeting because he was attending a workshop.

He did not say if the workshop had anything to do with the looming crisis.

“I am not aware of the outcome because I am not in office. You better ask the secretary (for Public Service) who attended the meeting,” said Minister Mukonoweshuro.

Mrs Chigwamba could not be reached for comment as her office line went unanswered while her staff declined to provide her cellphone number.

However, a Government official who attended the meeting confirmed that “about US$4 million extra will soon be set aside for salaries”.

Finance Minister Tendai Biti set aside US$600 million for civil servants’ salaries for 2010.

This figure translated to a marginal increase in salaries of between US$7 and US$21.

The Finance Minister, who is currently out of the country, said Treasury could not afford any meaningful increments for State employees at present revenue collection levels.

Observers have attributed the low salaries to the knock-on effect of illegal Western sanctions that have seen Zimbabwe’s revenue collection base shrink over the past decade.

The widely discredited embargo has been blamed for general economic malaise and hardships faced by ordinary people.