Maravi

(NEWZIMBABWE) Civil servants get pay hike

Civil servants get pay hike
01/07/2011 00:00:00
by Owen Gagare I NewsDay

THE government on Friday awarded civil servants a salary increment which will see a US$31 rise in the basic salary of the lowest-earning employee.

The least-paid government worker will now get a basic salary of US$159, up from US$128, while housing allowance has been pegged at US$50 from US$30 and transport allowance at US$44 from US$28, bringing the total package to US$253, which is half of the poverty datum line figure currently pegged at US$502.

President Robert Mugabe promised back in April that the lowest paid government worker would take home a minimum of US$251 starting in June, but Finance Minister Tendai Biti insisted at the time the government had no money to award a pay increase.

The Apex Council, which represents all civil servants, accepted the increase although the Progressive Teachers’ Union of Zimbabwe (PTUZ), which has called for a teachers’ strike, dismissed the increment as paltry.

PTUZ secretary-general Raymond Majongwe stormed out of a press conference called by the Apex Council to announce the increment, accusing the body of accepting “peanuts”.

Apex Council is composed of PTUZ, the Zimbabwe Teachers’ Association, the Teachers’ Union of Zimbabwe, the College Lecturers’ Association of Zimbabwe and Public Service Association.

Tendai Chikowore, the Apex Council president, said the increment would be with effect from July 1 and will be effective until December 31. She said the next review would be in January 2012.

"A protracted process on negotiations and consultations between government and the Apex council leadership, which culminated in the historic meeting with President Mugabe on April 6, 2011, has resulted in an agreement on the levels of remuneration to be paid to civil servants and defined a way forward towards the attainment of the PDL-informed remuneration package for the least-paid civil servants," Chikowore said.

Majongwe said: “We don’t need a spirit medium to speak on our behalf. As PTUZ, we are very disappointed and we want to state it categorically and without doubt that we are unhappy.”

But, other union leaders accused Majongwe of seeking cheap publicity, claiming his organisation had accepted the salary hike during negotiations only to renege at the press briefing.

The Teachers' Union of Zimbabwe CEO Michael Nyawo, credited Mugabe for the pay rise and said his union was taking the strike option off the table.

"He (President Mugabe) said something would come and this is the something. At least this is a roadmap for greater things to come. Though it was not exactly what we wanted, we understand the economy is not performing as expected but at least action has been taken," he said.

Labels: CIVIL SERVANTS, PTUZ, SALARIES

posted by MrK @ 5:01 PM