Zimbabwe govt to cushion workers' salaries

Civil servants salaries will soon be reviewed to cushion them from price hikes as the Government remains resolute in supporting and improving the welfare of its workers, a Cabinet Minister has said.

Apart from the salaries, the Government is already offering its workers various allowances in foreign currency with the lowest paid pocketing about US$250 monthly.

The National Joint Negotiating Council (NJNC), the umbrella forum for discussions on pay and conditions of service within public service, is set to meet soon to discuss the percentage increase.

Fielding questions during a post-Cabinet briefing on Tuesday regarding the Teaching Professional Council Bill and whether it will change the negotiations on teachers salaries, acting Information, Publicity and Broadcasting Services Minister Dr Jenfan Muswere said the existing negotiating platform remained in place.

"The platform for salary negotiation is another platform and this will not disrupt any negotiations that are taking place.

"That is why Professor Mthuli Ncube has just indicated that the review of civil servants salaries has already started and its another platform."

As a follow up, Public Service, Labour and Social Welfare Minister Professor Paul Mavima yesterday said the salary review was being worked out.

"The percentage is subject to negotiation in the National Joint Negotiating Council. As for the time frame, we will convene the NJNC as soon as the framework is provided by the Ministry of Finance and Economic Development. Within the next two weeks the NJNC will have met," he said.

Zimbabwe Confederation of Public Sector Trade Union spokesperson, Mr David Dzatsunga said they were waiting for the NJNC meeting to finalise on the pay increase.

"Right now, the concern is the restoration of the value of wages in local currency that has been lost recently due to the exchange rate madness and the resultant price increases.

"At the moment there is no Zimbabwe dollar salary to speak of while the US$250 is an allowance," he said.

The latest offer by the Government was a 100 percent pay increase for civil servants which matched the tabled proposal from workers during their NJNC.

Zimbabwe Confederation of Public Sector Trade Union chairperson Mrs Cecilia Alexander said it was their hope that Government would review both the local currency and forex component.

"We also remain committed to the path of dialogue for it can only be through dialogue that we can be able to improve our conditions of service."

"We are actually calling for an urgent NJNC meeting on the erosion of the local currency," she said.

Mrs Alexander said they were expecting an offer with mechanisations to adjust with inflation saying the situation was complicated as each time they negotiated salaries, there was sabotage of some sort to erode its value.

She said Government had been trying hard to improve their welfare by regularly reviewing salaries and allowances but because of sabotage, there was need to find a way forward.