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IT is an open secret that since the beginning of last year the government has been facing challenges in paying its employees with Finance and Economic Development Minister Patrick Chinamasa announcing that the pay dates for the civil service would be determined by the availability of funds. It is also in the public domain that the civil service salary bill gobbles more than 80 percent of the fiscus and as unsustainable as the current status quo is, the government has, without fail, fulfilled its obligation of paying its workforce throughout last year.
This has allowed the wheels of the government bureaucracy to keep moving. We aver that the number of civil servants is way too high given the current economic performance and moves by the government to trim it are welcome. The government will continue to face challenges in paying its bloated workforce until it rationalises it. Against this background, it is not surprising that there have been problems between the government and civil service unions over late payment of salaries.
Throughout last year, there were constant threats of strikes but thankfully none of the threats came to fruition save for the downing of tools by junior and middle level doctors. The government is the biggest employer and any industrial action by its workforce virtually paralyses the whole country. The doctors’ strike was costly as lives were unnecessarily lost when they could have been saved. We feel a strike action can be averted through openness and transparency between employer and employee.
We are aware that civil servants understand perfectly, the government’s financial predicament and have been patient all along even as their salaries were staggered. We are also cognisant of the numerous meetings held by the former Minister of Public Service, Labour and Social Services, Nicholas Goche and the various civil service unions regarding their conditions of service.
The new Minister, Cde Prisca Mupfumira, has also hit the ground running and assured civil servants who have not yet received their bonuses that they would get them by month end. Some civil servants including those in the uniformed services received their bonuses last year and others like teachers are yet to get them.
Reports in our sister paper, the Sunday News yesterday indicated that teachers are threatening to go on strike next week as they are accusing the government of failing to come up with an exact date when they would be paid their 13th cheque.
Teachers’ representatives said they would embark on an industrial action, as schools open, in protest over unpaid bonuses. The unions said there is confusion surrounding the outstanding bonuses due to non-communication by the government and continuous shifting of goal posts on the payment date. Progressive Teachers’ Union of Zimbabwe (PTUZ) president Takavafira Zhou said: “The issue remains unclear. There have been many changes on the dates and no one is committing to communicate officially to us. By doing so, the government is actually sending people on strike because they are playing hide and seek”.
He added: “Even if they do not have the money, they should come up and tell us what is really happening”.
The Zimbabwe Teachers Association (Zimta) chief executive officer Sifiso Ndlovu said: “The issue of bonuses is still a mirage. Whenever the dates come close, they move to another date. To make matters worse, there is no communication from our employer concerning the issue. We were only informed of bonus pay dates changes through the media. We even wrote to the new minister a few weeks back seeking clarity over the issue but we are yet to receive a response. As long as there is no clarity and no dialogue it is very possible that teachers will strike”.
Minister Mupfumira was quoted in the Sunday News yesterday as assuring teachers and other civil servants who are yet to receive their bonuses that they would be paid by the end of this month.
“I want to assure teachers and the rest of the civil servants that bonuses will be paid by month end. The payment will be staggered because of cash inflows. However, we are not going back on our word. Bonuses will be paid from the week beginning January 5”, she said. We call on both sides to exercise restraint and patience because it seems the main problem between them is communication.
We believe lines of communication should always be open between the government and its employees to avert costly strikes. Minister Mupfumira should engage teachers’ unions and thrash out areas of disagreement. A strike would disrupt the beginning of the 2015 school term and inconvenience learners. In the same vein, we believe unions should also understand the government’s precarious financial position and be patient. In time, government coffers will improve to an extent that it will be able to pay its workforce on time.
Online Reporter