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We watched in disbelief as civil servants’ union leaders fought for places at the top table while their members, who bankroll their unions through monthly subscriptions, went with abysmal salaries. The wrangling was over the constitution of a negotiating team that the supreme government workers’ union, Apex Council, should form to engage the Government over salaries and working conditions.
They had been in talks for 12 months or so seeking ways of breaking the impasse. They surprised many when they reached a deal yesterday.
We had started to wonder whether the dispute was influenced by genuine labour concerns or politics and selfish interests. It is encouraging the unionists struck the agreement. The expectation is that it will last as civil servants tend to be predisposed to disagreeing among themselves, not with their employer as is ordinarily expected of trade unions.
They have fought before over who should lead the Apex Council, with larger and older organisations being accused of monopolising leadership of the federation. Smaller organisations were unhappy that the Zimbabwe Teachers’ Union (Zimta) and Public Service Association (PSA), which are bigger and older, always rotated the presidency of the Apex Council between themselves.
The old fight raged for about two years, but was quelled in August last year when an uneasy compromise was reached that saw David Dzatsunga, of the smaller College Lecturers’ Association of Zimbabwe, assuming the Apex Council presidency from Tendai Chikowore, a Zimta member.
In February, Dzatsunga claimed he was voted into office by 13 out of 14 unions. This suggests to us that there is a total of 14 civil servants’ organisations.
Details of yesterday’s agreement had not been publicised at the time of printing, but the fact that the 14 employee associations must agree on nine slots of who must make the Apex Council delegation is a recipe for future disagreement. Therefore, a permanent formula to be used when setting up the team has to be worked out to prevent that. Yesterday’s agreement may have been only expedient, not durable, as unionists see that time for them to reach an agreement among themselves, to facilitate a resumption of talks and gain a possible salary increment next month, was running out.
A few strategies can be taken to achieve this. One of them could be for civil servants to lobby Parliament to amend the Act to add more slots to the nine. This should be easy and can result in a more inclusive system.
However, unionists have to convince Parliament that the expansion of their delegation is necessary. We argue that it indeed is because the provision for nine members may have been taken a long time ago when there were a few employee associations. Now there are many, hence the law must be relevant to the prevailing situation.
If that fails, the Apex Council would need to look for an internal solution. It can engage independent consultants to draft a new clause in its constitution setting out clearer guidelines on how the nine slots can be filled, instead of leaving that to the whims of politicking unions as and when they decide to quarrel. Without a clear constitutional position, we will see another standoff.
A kind of time-bound rotational system, deriving from the Apex Council constitution can help every one of the 14 unions having a chance to be among the nine.
As civil servants bickered, no one could blame the Government for giving its workers time to sort themselves out, in the mean time, not effect any salary increases.
That is perfectly legitimate because Section 3 (2) (b) of the Public Service Act says the Apex Coucil must appoint nine members to represent civil servants at the National Joint Negotiating Council, a forum where salaries and working conditions are discussed.
Any agreements or disagreements on salary talks are made through the NJNC. It transpired that whereas the government side to the NJNC was ready, the Apex Council wasn’t, therefore no legitimate talks could take place.
Now is the time for serious negotiations to resume, upholding the interests of ordinary civil servants who yearn for a living wage.
The Government and the party that forms it, Zanu-PF, has committed itself at various levels to aligning civil servants’ salaries to the Poverty Datum Line, estimated at $600. Early last month, the Politburo pledged to ensure that the lowest paid government worker earns a minimum of $570, up from $297 monthly.
At its conference last week, the party came up with a resolution imploring the Government to pay its workers wages above the PDL. President Mugabe told the conference:
“The Budget must tell a new story that those who work must be paid well, paid not below the Poverty Datum Line. We can’t be slave masters. We can’t allow our people to work for nothing.”
This is high-profile goodwill, and is heartening. Talks can restart with both parties to the NJNC – employee associations and employer representatives – knowing that the highest office is agreeable to the principle of paying government workers better.
Online Reporter