Govt indexes Covid-19 allowance to bank rate

Harare (New Ziana) -The Zimbabwe government will starting this month index the US$75 Covid-19 allowance to the interbank rate and pay it together with the monthly salary, an official said on Wednesday.

Public Service Commission (PSC) secretary Jonathan Wutawunashe told the media that going forward the allowance would be indexed to the prevailing Reserve Bank of Zimbabwe foreign exchange auction rate and paid on pay days.

“This effectively means that the least paid worker (B1) is now earning ZWL 11 350.15 monthly, while a teacher at entry grade (D1) earns a total of ZWL 12 591.15.”

Wutawunashe added; “The Public Service Commission is pleased to advise workers that the US$75 Covid-19 allowance for September 2020 is being paid today (Wednesday).”

He said the government appreciated civil servants in all categories who continued to render services to the citizens of Zimbabwe.

Wutanashe reiterated that the government was committed to continuously improve the working conditions of civil servants, and expected that negotiations in the National Joint Negotiating Council (NJNC) to further improve emoluments for civil servants would be concluded soon.

Government in June this year availed a special allowance for all civil servants to access US$75 a month to cushion them against the Covid-19 pandemic while negotiations for salary reviews continued.

Initially the scheme was to run for three months but was later extended to December this year and most government workers started receiving it in July.

Government pensioners were also awarded US$30 under similar conditions.
New Ziana