Civil servants pay tabled

at least $538, which is the Poverty Datum Line (PDL).
At the moment, the lowest paid Government employee is getting about $253.
The increases released by the Government range between $43 and $58.
The representatives said the new salaries would be effected in February without their agreement.
Although the civil servants representatives said there would be no strike over the issue, they said they would take their grievances to President Mugabe, through the office of the Prime Minister, Morgan Tsvangirai.
The president of the Apex Council, which is the umbrella body of all civil servants, Mrs Tendai Chikowore, said negotiators at the meeting failed to reach an agreement.
“The resource envelope availed by the Government totalling $240 million which was tabled last week and presented again today 31 January 2012 is inadequate and therefore rejected.
“We were presented with three options. The first was to put the proposed increases on allowances leaving the basic salary untouched, the second was to increase the basic salary and leave the allowances at the same level as last year. The final one was to spread the proposed increase on the basic salary and the allowances,” said Mrs Chikowore.
She said negotiators were forced to settle for the “lesser evil” of the first option because it was the only one that protected the “meagre increment(s)” from tax and other deductions.
“We cannot stop Government from paying its workers, so they decided to effect the salary adjustment backdated to January this year. Meanwhile, we will go on to argue our case with the principals of the GNU,” said Mrs Chikowore.
She said the Apex Council had agreed to have the salary position renegotiated by end of June so that a new package is paid by July 2012.
The chairperson of the Public Service Association, Mrs Cecilia Alexander, said the Government was not serious about addressing the issue of the plight of civil servants.
“We called for a five-day ‘token strike’ to show our employer the level of disgruntlement on the ground. People spoke emphatically and any serious Government would have responded positively but our employer appears to be unmoved,” said Mrs Alexander.
“We will appeal to the President through the office of the Prime Minister for a solution. Last year, when all the other offices had failed us, President Mugabe promised to increase our salaries in June and he was the only one who was true to his word.”
She said the transport allowance for the least paid civil servant had been increased from $44 to $63 while the housing allowance went up to $74, from $50.
Mr Richard Gundani, the Zimbabwe Teachers Association (Zimta)’s secretary-general, said the increases were too little.
“They offer nothing to push us towards our goal of having our least paid colleagues earning about $538. We have, however, agreed to set up an important committee to monitor revenue inflows into Government coffers so that we are not misled when having negotiations of this nature,” said Mr Gundani.
He said the terms of reference for the committee were still being formulated, adding that it would ensure transparency in negotiations by always giving an accurate picture of Government’s ability to pay salaries.
“The lowest salary being paid to a teacher was $361 before the increase. It has now gone up to $419. We are saying it is too little although we will not interfere with Government’s mandate to pay salaries,” said Mr Gundani.
The Progressive Teachers Union of Zimbabwe’s secretary-general, Mr Raymond Majongwe, could not be reached for comment as his mobile phone was barred for incoming calls.
Last week the civil servants went on a five-day strike, pressing the Government to increase their salaries.