admin
Farirai Machivenyika Senior Reporter
A CONSULTATIVE meeting was held yesterday between Government Ministers and the Zimbabwe Confederation of Public Sector Trade Unions (ZCPSTU), where civil servants presented their concerns on remuneration and conditions of service.
The ZCPSTU, an umbrella body for civil service staff associations, met Finance and Economic Development Minister Professor Mthuli Ncube and Minister of Labour, Public Service and Social Welfare Professor Paul Mavima.
ZCPSTU president Mrs Cecilia Alexander presented the workers’ concerns that include US dollar salaries equivalent to pre-October 2018 levels, implementation of agreed non-salary benefits, inclusion of workers in the governance of the Government Employees Mutual Services (GEMS) and pension funds and the need for a universal medical allowance for all civil servants.
In a statement last night, ZCPSTU confirmed the meeting and said Prof Ncube “stressed that the Government treats the welfare of civil servants as a priority, but was unequivocal that Government does not yet have the capacity to pay the entire salary bill in US dollars”.
“The Government will, however, review the situation in September to see if there is scope to increase the US dollar as well as the Zimbabwe dollar components premised on revenue inflows. He did not rule out the possibility of part US dollar salaries though, but was cautious to commit himself on it,” the statement said.
On the GEMS and pension schemes, ZCPSTU said Prof Ncube promised to look into the workers’ concerns of being excluded from the management of these bodies that they raised in their presentation.
The GEMS Fund was established in March 2020 as a voluntary scheme following a Cabinet resolution with civil servants expected to benefit through accessing cheap personal loans for home improvements, property acquisition, livestock rearing and school fees, among other benefits.
The Government provided the $100 million seed capital while participating civil servants contribute 2,5 percent of their total remuneration.
“As a way forward, the Honourable Minister of Labour (Prof Mavima) asked that we wait for September to see to how far Government will go towards meeting our expectations in terms of the cost of living and the future of our work,” the statement further said.
No comment could be obtained from either Prof Mavima and Prof Ncube last night.
Since the beginning of the year, Government has continuously made efforts to improve the conditions of civil servants including payment of US$175 as part of their salaries, importation of vehicles duty free and provision of housing schemes.
Government also doubled the Zimbabwe dollar component of civil servants salaries from the beginning of this month.
Prof Mavima last week told Parliament that Government was committed to improving the plight of civil servants and would continuously address their grievances as resources permit.
In his supplementary budget presentation last week, Prof Ncube made it clear that the Government would push as hard as could to improve the conditions of its staff, raising the percentage of Government spending in the extra money sought from Parliament to 53 percent, giving a 44 percent total for the year, well above the percentage in the original budget.
But he also made it clear that the Government needs to continue funding development programmes and has to live within its means, basically what it raises from taxes.
Online Reporter