GOVERNMENT now faces a crippling civil service strike after its’ revised offer of $78 for the lowest paid worker or 20% on a sliding scale was rejected by negotiators, who want nothing less than $1 700.
Apex council chairperson Cecilia Alexander said government increased its offer from $160 million from April to December, which was translating to a 10% pay raise for the least paid worker or $41 to $300 million for the same period, translating into 18,5% or $78 for the least paid worker.
“They came first with a message that we have been given a non-negotiable cushion allowance by the President (Emmerson Mnangagwa). We would like to appreciate that gesture although it is little compared to the crisis we are in,” Alexander told journalists soon after yesterday’s National Joint Negotiating Council meeting in Harare yesterday.
“For the negotiated salary, they brought a revised offer of $300 million, which is still far less the challenges we are facing. It can’t restore the purchasing power of our salaries to levels of October 2018. So we strongly believe that as civil servants, we want something better than this.”
She added: “Our notice for a national strike still stands unless something meaningful comes up. So it is up to government to expedite the process.”
At first government had offered its workers a “paltry” 10% pay rise, but it was rejected, prompting the Apex Council to give a 14-day notice to strike.
Alexander said unions representing government workers would meet on Monday to map the way forward, with a likelihood that a strike was inevitable.
The stalemate will likely pile more pressure on Mnangagwa’s regime, which is already seeking to reduce its wage bill and battling a worsening economic meltdown.
