‘Govt playing game of hide and seek’

LIVINGSTONE MARUFU

Government is playing a game of hide and seek, avoiding its frustrated workers, who are pushing for a meeting to review their poor salaries, Apex Council has said.

The Apex Council secretary, David Dzatsunga  told Business Times that the government was also “playing dirty tactics” to avoid the meeting, including undertaking disciplinary hearings, docking salaries and suspending workers.

This comes after the civil servants  petitioned Parliament to force the government to a meeting for an increment in their low salaries.

“Our welfare has deteriorated to embarrassing levels and there was a need for a confrontational push with the government but with police on the guard our members are not willing to face them,” Dzatsunga said.

He said civil servants need to heal and are not ready to strike after the government hauled striking employees to face disciplinary hearing, docked salaries and suspended employees.

Dzatsunga said the civil servants are in deep trouble as they cannot afford to “buy basic goods, basic life and basic education”.

“We are a mouthpiece for the workers but we can’t tell them to do such and such an action, if they feel a pinch and decide to act, we will go with the flow,” he said.

Government workers are demanding a pre-October 2018 salary level of US$540 a month saying their low salaries no longer match the rising cost of living.

The civil servants’ salaries amount to about ZWL$30 000 a month  on average plus US$175 in allowances.

The cost of living for a family of six is now over ZWL$130 000.

“We just need to have a basic meal, basic shelter, basic clothing and basic education for our children, we don’t want anything except basics,” Dzatsunga said.

According to Finance and Economic Development minister Mthuli Ncube, the government budgeted a 75% increment for workers in 2022.

But with inflation ravaging, the salaries were eroded, pushing the workers to call for a US$ salary.

Government is not willing to adjust salaries even in ZWL$ .

“We have learnt that the government seems to be waiting for the mid-term budget presentation to adjust salaries but we are currently suffering hence we need it now,” Apex Council said.

Efforts to get a comment  from Public Service, Labour and Social Welfare Minister Paul Mavima were futile as he was said to be in Geneva, Switzerland on government business.