Civil servants to get bonuses on Friday

CIVIL servants once again failed to reach a consensus on who should constitute their nine-member negotiating team with government while teachers yesterday heaved a sigh of relief after getting pay slips for their bonus due this Friday.

The unions met government in Harare yesterday to discuss the issue but there was no breakthrough.

The unions will meet today on the same issue to forge the way forward failure to which government might apply provisions of Statutory Instrument 141/97, which empowers it to come up with packages without the input of workers.

Coming out of the meeting, Apex Council president David Dzatsunga said government expressed disappointment over civil servants' continued bickering.

Public Service Deputy Minister Tongai Muzenda chaired the meeting which was also attended by the Permanent Secretary, Ngoni Masoka.

"The Deputy Minister expressed utmost disappointment about union leaders' selfishness and bickering at the expense of civil servants they should negotiate for," he said.

"All 12 unions were represented and we were all given time to explain why we have been unable to come up with a final list of negotiators."

Dzatsunga said government reminded them that they had a mandate to serve workers and that they should come up with an agreed list of negotiators as a matter of urgency. We will be having another meeting at 9am tomorrow," he said.

Zimbabwe Teachers Association (Zimta) chief executive officer Sifiso Ndlovu also said yesterday's meeting bore no fruits. He also acknowledged concerns by the so-called smaller unions but was quick to challenge the SI which he said was creating a lot of legal loopholes.

Said Ndlovu: "They want Zimta to cede one position and we feel there is need for further negotiations tomorrow. To us, the issues at hand are principles but this SI is creating a lot of legal loopholes in the way we interact as unions and government."

He added: "This instrument is weak and what we want now is one that is in line with the new constitution."

Ndlovu said teachers got separate pay slips, one for their December salary and the other one for their 13th cheque, which they will get on Friday. He said his association was in the talks because of good faith yet some unions wanted to question if Zimta is big.

Last week Public Service Minister Nicholas Goche gave unions five days to come up with an agreed list of negotiators and ordered them to bury their differences for progress sake.

Deputy Minister Muzenda and Masoka could not be reached for comment last night. There has been concern by smaller unions about alleged bullying by the bigger groupings, a development blamed for the bickering.

The Apex Council has been dogged by leadership disputes in the last few years over the composition of its negotiating team. Union leaders blame the development for failure to engage the government fruitfully because of continued bickering within the workers' body.

They have called on government to review the SI which regulates the activities of the Apex Council, which at the moment only provides for existence of two unions, Zimta and PSA, to be reviewed to cater for new unions.

Previously the two larger unions shared between themselves the nine seats given to civil servants in the negotiating forum.