LETTICIA MAGOMBO
Civil servants say a 100% salary review announced by the government is a non-event as they had rejected it at a recent meeting.
Finance and Economic Development, Mthuli Ncube (pictured) announced the upward adjustment to be effected from July 1, 2022.
But, the government workers, through the Zimbabwe Confederation of Public Sector Trade Unions (ZCPSTU), said the offer was rejected at the National Joint Negotiating Committee (NJNC) meeting on June 17 with the employees telling the government to table an offer only in United States dollar.
The unions said Ncube made a unilateral decision on the increment.
“We also take issue with the decision to pay the 100% without a signed agreement, which diminishes the importance of the NJNC, thus amounting to negotiating in bad faith,” the ZCPSTU.
“ZCPSTU is for the umpteenth time imploring the minister of Finance to desist from making premature pronouncements during negotiations as this undermines and pre-empts the social dialogue process.”
Government workers are demanding a pre-October 2018 salary level of US$540 a month saying their low salary no longer matches the rising cost of living.
The cost of living for a family of six is now over ZWL$133 000.
Civil servants say any salary in Zimbabwe dollar will be quickly eroded with the local unit depreciating against the greenback.
The dollar is trading at between ZWL$600 and ZWL$650 on the parallel market.
