Govt workers request urgent pay review talks

Harare (New Ziana)-Civil servants have written to the government notifying it that they are now incapacitated to report for duty following the erosion of their salaries by prices of basic commodities that are being benchmarked on the black-market exchange rate.

Speaking at belated commemorations to mark Workers Day which the Zimbabwe Confederation of Public Sector Trade Union held on Friday, secretary general David Dzatsunga said civil servants had also requested for an urgent salary negotiation meeting with the employer.

“Just yesterday (Thursday), we served notice to the Minister of Labour for incapacitation. The Minister has our letter, where we notified him that workers are now incapacitated to report for duty. Incapacitation does not refer to a strike, it’s just the fact that the economic situation has gone bad.

“We have also requested for an urgent NJNC (National Joint Negotiating Council) meeting to discuss the way forward concerning our situation. We have also said that if that does not happen, we need to escalate that by writing to the President.

“We are waiting for the Minister (of Public Service) to respond to us then we come up with the next strategy,” he said.

Speaking at the same occasion, Zimbabwe Nurses Association secretary general Enoch Dongo concurred that like of civil servants, the pay for health workers had been eroded.

“Nurses earn ZWL$45 000 every month plus the foreign currency allowance being given to all government workers. Our local currency denominated pay has been eroded by black market rates, which means we now have to be paid in United States dollars,” he said.

ZCPSTU president Cecilia Alexander said while workers appreciated the US$250 allowances, they were not enough to capacitate workers.

Federation of Educators Zimbabwe leader Richard Gundani added his voice towards demands for the government to pay all its workers in foreign currency.

New Ziana