Maravi

Civil servants salary negotiations drag on

Civil servants salary negotiations drag on
By Bivan Saluseki
Wednesday March 14, 2007 [02:00]

Salary negotiations between the government and civil servants have continued to drag following differences among unions over the four per cent offered to them. But a member of the government negotiating team Richard Chizyuka who is agriculture permanent secretary yesterday said the government and the unions were still negotiating and had not agreed on any percentage. According to sources, the negotiating team had offered four per cent salary increment to government workers and the Civil Servants Union of Zambia, Zambia National Union of Teachers and the National Union of Public Service Workers were agreeable to it.

However, another camp of workers comprising Basic Education Teachers Union of Zambia (BETUZ), Secondary School Teachers Union of Zambia and Agriculture, Technical and Professional Staff Union of Zambia have rejected the increment saying it was too small. Chizyuka said he could not give details of the negotiations and where they were currently being held. Initially they were being held in Siavonga. However, Chizyuka said the government wanted the negotiations to end.
"We are anxious, we want to move with reasonable speed," he said. Chizyuka said the negotiations were being done within the parameters of the current budget debate and approval.

Sources said the unions that had rejected the increment were annoyed that ZCTU president Leonard Hikaumba and his group had weakened their case and questioned their objectivity in the negotiations. The sources said the CSUZ, NUPSAW and ZNUT were scheduled to sign the agreement on February 24. But Hikaumba dismissed that there was the four per cent agreement. He however said both parties wanted the negotiations to end and had agreed not to disclose what was happening at the negotiations.

posted by MrK @ 3:55 AM