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She said when Government came up with a $240 million resource envelope to the negotiating table, it wanted both the Government and worker representatives to break it down taking into consideration critical areas but the workers refused.
“I must emphasise that the Ministry of Finance itself had tried to break it down but our cadres on the ground (members of the Negotiating Joint Council) felt that it was prudent to take the resource envelope to the negotiating table rather than to take a broken down figure as that would be dictatorial.”
Minister Matibenga said the $240 million had since been broken down and it would cover conditions of service, transport and housing allowance.
She said rural allowances and debunching of salary grades would now be held in abeyance until resources were found.
The new figures, the minister said, would be brought before the National Joint Negotiating Council meeting today.
Minister Matibenga said the civil servants leadership did not appreciate negotiating procedures accusing them of waiting for schools to open or national examinations either to call for negotiations or go on an industrial action.
“The workers only wait when schools are open and they know that there is red tape in Government… Their coming to my office and pretending that it was a negotiating forum is mischievous,” she said.
“There is definite deficit of knowledge by workers on which office will help them.
They give an impression that I am sitting in my office with a bag full of money.”
Minister Matibenga alleged that at one stage during the meeting at her office, the workers refused to leave threatening to sleep at her office.
The workers, the minister said, also insisted in holding a press conference in her boardroom.
“I told them kuti ini ndiri tete harisiro dare remusha,” she said.
She said Government workers’ claims of losing confidence in the negotiating process where they have a 50 percent representation spoke volumes of their calibre.
Minister Matibenga said there was a need to continue dialogue by all parties as the workers rushed to Global Political Agreement principals leading to a unilateral increase which would create a budget deficit.
She said this happened last year and left Government with a debt backlog to service providers.
Minister Matibenga named the Grain Marketing Board, local authorities and service providers such as Zesa and TelOne as some of the providers owed by Government.
The Minister said legislators should not just pass budgets with no provisions for salary increments and expect her to award adjustments.
“You know that the budget you have approved has no fiscal movement. No one Minister wields 100 percent power to decide, it’s a collective responsibility but it’s unfortunate that everything is lumped on Minister Matibenga, that she is refusing to talk to workers,” she said.
She said the inter-ministerial advisory meetings emphasised the need to find alternative sources of revenue.
Minister Matibenga called for the inclusion of such ministries as Mines and Mining Development in the InterMinisterial Advisory meetings.
All these issues, Minister Matibenga said, were raised during a meeting with Acting President John Nkomo.
She attended the meeting with Finance Minister Tendai Biti.
The Acting President, she said, pledged his support to the suggestions.
Online Reporter