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Government and the civil service have been locked in negotiations for a cost of living salary adjustment due to pricing distortions. Through the Apex Council, an umbrella body representing Government employees, civil servants had issued a strike notice, but it has since lapsed and they are still reporting to work. Here, our Features Writer Leroy Dzenga (LD) interviews Apex Council chairperson Mrs Cecilia Alexander (CA) to get an appreciation of the progress being made in the dialogue. Below are excerpts from the interview.
LD: There has been talk of a strike by teachers which is said to have divided your council, have you made a resolution?
CA: I can confirm that we have not yet declared a strike as the Apex Council. Those who are on strike are doing so in their capacity as individual organisations and worker representatives. We are 16 organisations under Apex, so if a few decide to go on strike they can do so but they cannot ride on our name as the Apex Council. In our last meeting, we thought Government was going to come with an improved offer, but they said they cannot offer us more.
However, the Government took an undertaking to address the price regime. Our issue as civil servants is not solely an increase in money, but its purchasing power. We expect Government to come up with a plan that lessens pressure on our earnings and improve our standard of living as its employees.
LD: Given that the civil service wage bill is said to be high and civil servants are asking for a 250 percent increment, do you think Government is in a position to respond to your demands at a time when it is trying to rationalise its spending?
CA: We have a practical problem, which needs a practical solution. Government does not have a lot of money to spend and workers have no money. This is where Government is supposed to rise to its responsibility to look after its workers. Government has means to fix things, unlike workers. If Government cannot afford to give us money, it should avail non-monetary incentives that cushions the workers from the tough times we find ourselves in.
LD: There is a $60 million housing deal which Government offered civil servants. What is the Apex Council’s reaction to the intervention?
CA: It is a very welcome development. I was honoured to have been invited to witness the signing of such a worker-centred idea into life. This is a product of our continued engagement with Government. We were promised this housing facility last year and we are glad that Government has delivered.
It has showed that our dialogue is not all talk, but bears tangible results. We however, believe that though welcome, $60 million falls short if you look at the number of civil servants who are there. We urge Government to look into how they can increase this amount. When more civil servants have less costs like rentals, it eases pressure on their earnings. We must also remember that civil servants have fallen prey to land barons, so a Government provision on housing is more than welcome although we hope the money dedicated to the project will be increased.
LD: Is the Apex Council still an effective negotiation body, given that health and education wage negotiations tend to happen separately from the rest of the civil service?
CA: Health has the Health Services Board, so their labour disputes are handled differently from ours. But if you look at it closely, the concessions that are being signed in different negotiation forums are a result of our lobbying as Apex Council. We are saying this is not the best approach, right now we are working on coming up with a collective bargaining council. Section 64 of the Constitution allowed us to collectively bargain and we are concerned with the pace of alignment. The current setup does not allow us to collectively bargain. Right now we just consult. The Constitution superseded all enactments and we are saying, we should be able to collectively bargain even now.
LD: Government announced a hardship allowance for civil servants. How has been the feedback from your members who have received the allowance?
CA: We appreciate the gesture by His Excellency, we feel it was a good intervention. We believe there is still need to address the problems. Our problems go beyond transport. We are still incapacitated in other ways. Currently, working civil servants are subsidising the Government.
There should be emphasis on the all-round well-being of the worker. Things like rentals, the availability of food on the table and other events should be reviewed as they contribute to the worker’s welfare. We want to work with a sound mind.
If we do not go to work in the right mind, we will not be able to give the employer our all. Our plea is that when inspectors go around in Government departments, they should look on other issues besides punctuality, they should talk to workers in different posts to understand the situation on the ground. But all the same, we appreciate the allowance as it has allowed us to breathe but the fundamental problems that got us here should be fixed.
LD: What solutions do you as the Apex Council think Government should adopt?
CA: Government should admit that things are not normal on the ground. Our incomes have been eroded by the price madness we have seen in the country. What they should do is provide an enabling environment or come up with arrangements that reduce pressure on our existing salaries. Just because the Apex Council has not declared a strike, that does not mean our concerns have been forgotten. We have a mature strike notice but we hope things will not get to a point where we have to reactivate it.
LD: Are there any reasons why the Apex council allowed its notice of strike to expire?
CA: The situation in the country is highly polarised and is to some extent volatile. We are emerging from a period of protests where people lost their lives, we did not want to expose our members to such events.
It was in our wisdom that we suspended the strike, we did not want to edify those who were pushing a political agenda. We wanted to remove ourselves from seemingly political processes. When we perform our duties as Government employees, we are expected to work with Government as our employers. We could not be seen to be siding with those who were pushing ideas that challenged our Government. The timing of the strike had to change so as to avoid misinterpretations of any nature.
LD: In your engagement with Government, has there been progress?
CA: There have been improvements noted in our engagement with Government. It is important to note that Government has been willing to compromise.
They started with a $150 million offer, but now they are at $353 million. We cross our fingers that there will be more availed soon. If they cannot give us money, they can subsidise some of our expenses. It would be tragic to have teachers in class teaching when they know that their own child is not in class. Government should avoid such a situation.
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