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Farirai Machivenyika Senior Reporter
Civil servants have urged Government to index their salaries to the interbank exchange rate in light of the rise in the cost of living.
The civil servants met yesterday and said they would present their demands at the National Joint Negotiating Council meeting called by Government on Friday.
Apex Council vice secretary Mr Gibson Mushangu yesterday said since the last increase they got in August, the cost of living had continued to rise.
“As Apex Council, we met and came up with a resolution which is not very different from what we have been coming up with because the situation hasn’t changed. Government hasn’t changed its position from what it has been offering us,” he said.
“We are saying we are still incapacitated. In fact, the levels of incapacitation have risen and we are no longer able to go to work so when we meet as the NJNC on Friday, we are going to demand that our salaries be indexed to the interbank rate.”
Mr Mushangu also called on Government to come up with other interventions to enable them to carry out their duties.
Civil servants last got an increase when the Government offered a 76 percent cost of living adjustment which resulted in the least paid worker taking home $1 023 per month.
Secretary in the Ministry of Public Service, Labour and Social Welfare Mr Simon Masanga confirmed Friday’s NJNC meeting.
“Yes, we are meeting on Friday,” he said before declining to discuss the matter further.
According to the latest statistics by the Zimbabwe National Statistics Agency, the Poverty Datum Line for an average family of five rose by 15,7 percent last November to $3 700 from the previous month’s $3 160.
Online Reporter