The Government says it will review civil servants’ salaries soon to cushion them from rising prices of goods and services.
Responding to questions from journalists 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 Jenfan Muswere said:
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 it is another platform.
On Wednesday, Public Service, Labour and Social Welfare Minister Paul Mavima told The Herald that the National Joint Negotiating Council (NJNC), the umbrella forum for discussions on pay and conditions of service within public service, will meet within two weeks to discuss the percentage increase. Said Mavima:
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.
Zimbabwe Confederation of Public Sector Trade Union (ZCPSTU) spokesperson, David Dzatsunga said:
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.
Zimbabwe Confederation of Public Sector Trade Union chairperson Cecilia Alexander said it was their hope that Government would review both the local currency and forex component. Said Alexander:
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.
Alexander said the Government should consider rising inflation in future salary reviews.
She said there was sabotage of some sort because whenever civil servants’ salaries are increased, prices of goods and services are hiked as well.
In April this year, the Government increased civil servants’ salaries by 100 percent but the increment has been eroded by runaway inflation and the depreciating Zimbabwe dollar.
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