News / National
Civil servants call for immediate holding of elections
14 May 2013 at 17:57hrs | Views
CIVIL servants on Tuesday called for the immediate holding of elections, saying they are itching to confront a new Government to address their welfare as the inclusive Government has failed to do so.
The call comes at a time when the mandate of the Inclusive Government is set to expire next month.
Speaking in separate interviews, civil servants' representatives said they hoped that elections would be held soon to clear the uncertainty and the anxiety that is seriously affecting their welfare.
They said the longer the country took to go for elections the more suffering civil servants would face.
The civil servants said under the Inclusive Government they have been treated badly by Treasury, which did not listen to their concerns.
Apex Council president Mr David Dzatsunga said they were looking forward to the elections and expressed hope the new Government would be able to address the challenges facing civil servants. "Right now the country is generally focusing on elections and is not committed to anything related to salaries for Government workers. We realise that no matter how much we push for a salary increase it would not help. We are hoping that the elections would come earlier than later so that we can then confront the new Government and start negotiating for better salaries and conditions for the civil servants," said Mr Dzatsunga.
"If people are in an election mode, there is that hold-back, and it affects progress in terms of negotiating for better conditions for the civil servants. It is therefore important for the country to have elections at the shortest possible period so that we go through that period then focus on other things, especially the improvement of civil servants' salaries."
Mr Dzatsunga said they were also working on putting the Apex Council in order and identifying people to represent civil servants in salary negotiations.
Zimbabwe Teachers Association (Zimta) president Mr Richard Gundane called on the inclusive government to conclude its unfinished business and pave way for new negotiations.
"If the GNU is prudent and wise, it would neatly conclude its unfinished business and make sure that its processes have moved towards the achievement of pushing civil servants' salaries up to the Poverty Datum Line (PDL).
"As civil servants, we are looking forward to a new era that will see the resuscitation of social dialogue and greatly improve remuneration for the civil servants," said Mr Gundane.
He said Zimta was in the process of getting ready to engage the Government.
"We are in the process of putting the Apex Council in order and selecting our negotiating team. Our principle of achieving salaries equivalent or more than the PDL still apply as they have not been achieved," said Mr Gundane.
In February this year civil servants received a 5,3 percent inflation-related salary increment, which left the least-paid Government worker getting $296.
The increment, however, did not pacify civil servants because their salaries remained way below the PDL, which is at $600.
Finance Minister Tendai Biti has always argued that Government does not have enough money to award salary increments to its workers.
The call comes at a time when the mandate of the Inclusive Government is set to expire next month.
Speaking in separate interviews, civil servants' representatives said they hoped that elections would be held soon to clear the uncertainty and the anxiety that is seriously affecting their welfare.
They said the longer the country took to go for elections the more suffering civil servants would face.
The civil servants said under the Inclusive Government they have been treated badly by Treasury, which did not listen to their concerns.
Apex Council president Mr David Dzatsunga said they were looking forward to the elections and expressed hope the new Government would be able to address the challenges facing civil servants. "Right now the country is generally focusing on elections and is not committed to anything related to salaries for Government workers. We realise that no matter how much we push for a salary increase it would not help. We are hoping that the elections would come earlier than later so that we can then confront the new Government and start negotiating for better salaries and conditions for the civil servants," said Mr Dzatsunga.
"If people are in an election mode, there is that hold-back, and it affects progress in terms of negotiating for better conditions for the civil servants. It is therefore important for the country to have elections at the shortest possible period so that we go through that period then focus on other things, especially the improvement of civil servants' salaries."
Mr Dzatsunga said they were also working on putting the Apex Council in order and identifying people to represent civil servants in salary negotiations.
"If the GNU is prudent and wise, it would neatly conclude its unfinished business and make sure that its processes have moved towards the achievement of pushing civil servants' salaries up to the Poverty Datum Line (PDL).
"As civil servants, we are looking forward to a new era that will see the resuscitation of social dialogue and greatly improve remuneration for the civil servants," said Mr Gundane.
He said Zimta was in the process of getting ready to engage the Government.
"We are in the process of putting the Apex Council in order and selecting our negotiating team. Our principle of achieving salaries equivalent or more than the PDL still apply as they have not been achieved," said Mr Gundane.
In February this year civil servants received a 5,3 percent inflation-related salary increment, which left the least-paid Government worker getting $296.
The increment, however, did not pacify civil servants because their salaries remained way below the PDL, which is at $600.
Finance Minister Tendai Biti has always argued that Government does not have enough money to award salary increments to its workers.
Source - Chronicle
