The minister of Public Service, Labour and Social Welfare Professor Paul Mavima has said workers have to make practical demands.
He speaks when workers across sectors are declaring incapacitation owing to the erosion of their salaries by the soaring inflation.
Workers are demanding that the “broke” government pay their salaries in the stable United States dollar or equivalent as per the agreement they made in 2018 when the local currency was at par with the U.S. Dollar. Mavima said:
Our workers need to be realistic with the demands they bring to the table. Our workers have to think in terms of what is available and what we can make available in the future is to a very large extent dependent on what we do now.
He also commended the APEX council and the various unions representing workers for their willingness to engage with the Government and for the positivity that they have shown.
Recently, the government raised workers’ salaries by 50 percent, which it has completed paying this week, and also gave them US$75 COVID-19 allowance.
Workers are rejecting the offer saying the money is insignificant given that the economy in the country is inflationary.
