The Government of Zimbabwe has announced a salary increase of US$50 for civil servants, effective from June, with the local currency portion being pegged at the equivalent of US$150 at the prevailing interbank rate. Negotiations for further reviews of conditions of services are continuing.
Previously, government workers received a US$250 monthly Covid-19 allowance, while the rest of their remuneration was denominated in the local currency. The Treasury is working towards raising workers’ salaries to pre-October 2018 levels of US$540 per month for the least-paid employee.
The new salary package was tabled during a recent meeting of the National Joint Negotiating Council (NJNC), a platform that brings together the Government and worker representatives to discuss conditions of service. The Public Service, Labour and Social Welfare Minister Professor Paul Mavima stated that the package was meant to cushion workers from the rising cost of living. The salaries will continue to be raised until the workers’ demands are met. He told The Sunday Mail:
As you are aware, workers have been agitating for a long time to have their salaries restored to pre-October 2018 levels of US$540 per month.
It is clear that Government is answering that call.
But considering the economic challenges we have, we are going there progressively.
As has been said, the NJNC will reconvene for further deliberations, but for now, Government has come up with a workable offer as we wait for another review.
If you do your calculations well, we are now only about US$100 short of meeting that demand.
The Zimbabwe Confederation of Public Sector Trade Unions (ZCPSTU) president Mrs Cecilia Alexander said engagement with the Government under the NJNC has improved, and negotiations have been positive. Alexander said:
I can safely say they negotiated in good faith this time.
Even though they did not meet our expectations, the talks we had were positive.
As you can see, after effecting a pay rise, Government has made great interventions that have helped in reducing prices of basic commodities and the local currency has also strengthened against the United States dollar.
The NJNC is expected to reconvene soon for another round of talks.
Speaking during Tuesday’s post-Cabinet briefing, Information, Publicity and Broadcasting Services Minister Monica Mutsvangwa said Cabinet approved a proposed salary increase for public sector employees. She added that negotiations will continue, guided by the spirit of continued improvement of the welfare of the civil service. In March, government workers were awarded a 100 percent salary increase and reviewed their Covid-19 allowance, except for health sector workers.
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