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(NEWZIMBABWE) Civil servants anxious over Biti's budget review

Civil servants anxious over Biti's budget review
17/07/2012 00:00:00
by NewZiana

ANXIETY is high in the civil service as the two week ultimatum that they gave the government to review their salaries ends on Thursday without any feedback from the employer.

Finance Minister Tendai Biti is on Wednesday expected to present the mid-term budget review statement with huge cuts in expenditure projected. The civil servants on Tuesday said they were waiting for Biti to present the mid-term fiscal policy review statement to find out whether he had made provision for them.

They re-affirmed their threat to go on strike if the fiscal policy review statement did make any provision for their pay raise.

Apex Council chairperson Tendai Chikowore, who is also Zimbabwe Teachers Union president, said civil servants would decide on action to take after presentation of the fiscal policy review statement.

"We will act after hearing the Mid-Term Policy Statement as we need to see if the finance minister will consider us in his statement which we hope will come up with something reasonable" said Chikowore.

Chikowore confirmed that anxiety was high as the government was yet to propose anything reasonable saying while the government was not cooperating, the mood of the civil servants was not that of disappointment.

"I cannot predetermine the Apex Council's deliberations but I cannot rule out a general strike," said Chikowore.

She said civil servants were tired of waiting for the government to address their plight.

"The government has not responded clearly to our requests after two weeks and as we speak we are still waiting for them to speak," she said.

Biti has indicated that he would not make any provision for civil servants salaries as revenue projections in the 2012 budget had not been met.

This has angered civil servants who are demanding a salary raise to at least US$564 for the least paid worker and 15 percent of the basic salary as rural allowance.

Teachers Union of Zimbabwe (TUZ) chief executive officer Manuel Nyawo said the government should show more commitment towards workers’ needs.

"The government is not serious at all, they have failed to give us any satisfactory response to our ultimatum", he said.

"It is our deliberate intention to express our dissatisfaction in a strike that will paralyze government operations as we need to find a lasting solution to this issue," said Nyawo.

Labels: CIVIL SERVANTS, SALARIES, TENDAI BITI

posted by MrK @ 3:16 PM