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Civil servants are demanding a minimum salary of $538 for the least paid worker.
At the moment the minimum salary for Government workers is $296 per month.
In the meeting, Apex council, the umbrella body for civil servants associations, will meet Government negotiators to discuss issues that also include the re-introduction of rural allowances.
In an interview yesterday, Apex president Mrs Tendai Chikowore said civil servants wanted Government to introduce a rural allowance that was 15 percent of the basic salary.
“We have not discussed any action to take if things do not go our way. We are, however, still asking for a basic salary that is equal to the Poverty Datum Line. We also want an allowance that is 15 percent of the basic salary for people who are stationed outside urban areas,” said Mrs Chikowore.
She said civil servants would also seek an increase in other allowances like housing and transport.
“I can only say more after the meeting because we still do not know how much Government is offering. You can contact me after the meeting for further comments,” she said.
However, the secretary-general of the Progressive Teachers Union of Zimbabwe (PTUZ), Mr Raymond Majongwe, said the meeting was a waste of time.
“There are only four items on the agenda and the issue of salaries is not there. The main topic for discussion is the pulling out of Apex from the ad-hoc committee that was set up to mobilise resources for civil servants. As long as salaries are not discussed, the meeting is a waste of time,” said Mr Majongwe.
He said he was disappointed that Government was sending Ministry directors who did not have the power to make decisions, to negotiate on its behalf.
“Why is Government not sending Cabinet Ministers or Permanent Secretaries in Ministries, who have the power to make decisions to meet us? In all other sectors decision makers meet the workers,” said Mr Majongwe.
He said the outcome of the meeting would determine the action that would be taken by members of his organisation.
Public Service Association (PSA) president Mrs Cecilia Alexander could not be reached for comment.
However, on Friday, she said the Government should honour an agreement it made in January, to review salaries this month.
She said civil servants unions had already written to President Mugabe asking him to intervene.
Civil servants were last year forced to approach the President after exhausting all negotiating channels and only got an increase after meeting him.
The workers were arguing that Government had failed to convene a meeting under the National Joint Negotiating Committee (NJNC), while an appeal to Prime Minister Morgan Tsvangirai yielded nothing.
Online Reporter