Chronicle Editor
Nqobile Tshili, Chronicle Correspondent
CIVIL servants yesterday said they were hopeful of improved conditions of service and labour relations under President Emmerson Mnangagwa’s Government following his inauguration.
Mrs Cecelia Alexander, the president of the Apex Council, the umbrella body for all civil servants, said civil servants were optimistic that Government will address their grievances and improve conditions of service under President Mnangagwa’s stewardship.
“We are hoping that labour relations are going to be very cordial within the civil service. In the past eight months that Cde Mnangagwa has been in office, we saw a paradigm shift in the employer/employee relationship. Some of our issues were addressed and we hope the same spirit is going to continue in this new era in the Second Republic, ” said Mrs Alexander.
She said employees want a one stop negotiating table for all civil servants instead of unions engaging Government separately.
“We also want the harmonisation of labour laws which has taken longer than necessary because our Constitution was adopted in 2013 and up to now our laws have not been harmonised. We also want a Bargaining Council for civil servants whereby we collectively bargain,” she said.
Mrs Alexander said what is encouraging is that Government has already demonstrated its commitment to addressing some of its employees’ grievances.
She cited the 17,5 salary increment and the allocation of $60 million for the civil servants housing scheme as a confirmation of Government’s commitment.
“There has been a lot of progress and we want to applaud this Government for that. Government allocated $60 million towards the civil servants housing scheme and the scheme will be launched soon,” said Mrs Alexander.
@nqotshili
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