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Civil servants in make-or-break talks
Kudzai Bare and Wonai Masvingise, Financial Gazette
January 14, 2011

http://www.financialgazette.co.zw/top-stories/6877-civil-servants-in-make-or-break-talks.html

Government proxies will today hold a crisis meeting with agitated civil servants' representatives over new salaries and improved working conditions but are unlikely to avert a go-slow that is currently on the cards. The National Joint Negotiating Council, comprising negotiators from both the government and civil servants, has failed to agree on a new salary structure and better working conditions for the public workers since last November due to insufficient revenue inflows.

Ahead of today's meeting, sources said unions were already mobilising their members not to report for work until they received feedback from the government regarding the new salary structures.

Tendai Chikowore, the chairperson of the Apex council, which represents all the civil servants, confirmed that a meeting of the National Joint Negotiating Council would be held in Harare today to try and resolve the impasse.

Civil servants have been adamant that the anticipated salary increment would still be far below their expectations as it will be significantly less than the Poverty Datum Line presently estimated at about US$500. Public workers averagely take home US$170 per month. A 100 percent salary hike would see them averaging US$340.

Emmanuel Nyawo, the chief executive of the Teachers Union of Zimbabwe, a body representing mostly secondary schools, also confirmed that his organisation is mobilising its members to embark on a go slow.

"We are not encouraging our members to go to work until they are certain of the exact amounts they are going to get this month," said Nyawo.

"Unless the government gives us desired feedback on the salary structures for civil servants, we do not encourage our members to report for duty. Right now schools have opened but teachers are free to do whatever they want. If they decide to go and teach it is up to them but they are not being required to until we confirm the proposed pay packages. But if they fail to meet our demands then the government must prepare for an industrial action," he added.

Takavafira Zhou, the president of the militant Progressive Teachers Union of Zimbabwe (PTUZ), said his organisation had noted with concern that schools opened on Tuesday without teachers knowing how much they would be earning this year.

"As if this is not enough, there are no clear cut negotiations taking place leaving teachers as prisoners of hope. If the figures that are coming from impeccable sources are anything to go by, there will be no respite for teachers as the new salary scales range from US$185 to US$215, plus a US$45 housing allowance and US$45 transport allowance. It is clear that the so called ongoing negotiations that will resume on Thursday (today) between civil servants and government through the (National) Joint Negotiating Council are nothing but a shame, predetermined and an issue of misrepresentation," said Zhou.

The public workers have also not been happy with the education budget allocation presented by Finance Minister, Tendai Biti in his 2011 National Budget. Biti allocated slightly more than US$400 million to the education sector, a 100 percent increase from the 2009 budget, a figure described as inadequate by the civil servants.

Zhou said PTUZ is urging the government to ensure that education is prioritised by being allocated more than 22 percent of the National Budget as opposed to the current 12 percent.

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