HARARE Restless civil servants and government representatives are expected to meet next week to get feedback on their salary dispute. Finance Minister Tendai Biti is on record as saying the treasury has no funds to increase civil servants salaries. Zanu (PF) has been trying to blame Biti for refusing to pay civil servants with revenue from diamond mining, claiming that the money was handed over to treasury.
However, Biti has openly asked the Mines and Mining Development Minister ,Obert Mpofu, to explain all the diamond transactions, which Mpofu has failed to do so.
President Robert Mugabe last month promised civil servants that the lowest earners would get double the salary they are currently earning.
But government and civil servants are on a collision course with workers calling for a $502 poverty datum line-based minimum salary.
In an interview this week, the Apex Council chairperson, Tendai Chikowore, said:
Our mandate is to demand minimum salary, which is above the poverty datum line for the least paid employee. The workers have told us that they want salaries which are above the poverty datum line.”
She said the National Joint Negotiating Council (NJNC) last week told her that the council was talking to the government representatives.
NJNC chairperson Nelson Sambureni said he was not aware of how much was going to be tabled because the issue was being dealt with by Mugabe and the other GPA principals.
Post published in: News