Zimbabwe government peasants petition parliament

Scores of Zimbabwean government workers protested in the capital on Tuesday demanding a near doubling of basic wages, after the finance minister ruled out any increases due to budget cuts.

Union leaders had urged the nation's 230,000 government workers to take to the streets on Tuesday, but only about 150 showed up in a city park as union leaders led a march to present a petition to Finance Minister Tendai Biti's office and to parliament.

The petition urged parliament to reject Biti's mid-term budget, which ruled out any increases.

Workers want across-the-board pay rises, including a raise from $286 to $560 a month for the lowest-paid government workers.

"We are united in our conviction that we deserve better," Raymond Majongwe, president of the Progressive Teachers Union, told the gathering.

"We are saying to Biti, 'get money from diamonds, chrome, platinum and other resources and pay the workers'," he said, accusing Zimbabwe's unity government of "total neglect."

Long-ruling President Robert Mugabe and Prime Minister Morgan Tsvangirai formed a coalition government in 2009.

Since then, the hyperinflation-ravaged economy has improved but remains a fraction of its former size.