President Emmerson Mnangagwa has directed the Minister of Finance and Economic Development, Professor Mthuli Ncube to adjust workers’ salaries.
He expressed commitment to address concerns of civil servants in a letter to Zimbabwe Teachers Association (Zimta) chief executive officer Dr Sifiso Ndlovu, who in April had penned a letter to him. Mnangagwa said:
First and foremost, I would like to put it on record that Government acknowledges that the level of remuneration currently being given to teachers and other civil servants is inadequate, and is not what Government would wish to pay its workers under ideal circumstances. For that reason, Government will continue to explore ways to improve the welfare of the generality of civil servants, including teachers.
You may, however, note that Government introduced policy measures to correct the inflationary tendencies that were wreaking havoc in the retail and transport sectors. Resultantly, Government interventions have seen inflation go down significantly, resulting, therefore, in the growing high hope that the trend will continue going forward….
You may also note that continuous increases in salaries fuel inflation, hence Government is exploring other non-monetary benefits for civil servants in order to complement salaries. These will target basic necessities of life. To this end, I have directed the Ministers of Finance and Economic Development and Public Service, Labour and Social Welfare to explore ways in which the conditions of service and welfare of Government workers can be improved.
I have further directed that there are compelling reasons to adjust teachers’ salaries as much as Government can possibly manage. Decisions thereafter will be communicated through the proper platforms in order to determine conditions of service in the Public Service.
This comes as the government is being accused of being insensitive to the plight of workers who have for the past two years declared incapacitation.
Workers’ negotiations with the employer have not resulted in the restoration of the 2018 salaries that were around US$500 as they would have wished.
Ironically, the government has in recent years been claiming that it has been recording budget surpluses.
More: Pindula News; Chronicle