THE Government has sealed a salary review agreement with civil servants in a development that is set to restore normalcy in the public services sector.
The agreement which was signed early Wednesday morning is a culmination of crunch meetings which were held since Tuesday on the sidelines of the Joint National Negotiating Council Workshop taking place in the resort town of Victoria Falls.
Sources close to the negotiations said the government workers agreed to take the improved salary offer tabled by their employer earlier this month, while the sticking issue of the effective date of the offer was ironed out.
Public Service, Labour and Social Welfare Minister, Professor Paul Mavima said the government welcomes the agreement which is set to ensure normalcy in the public services sector, adding that the employer will continue to look at different ways of improving conditions of service.
“We are so excited that the parties have finally managed to reach an agreement and resolved all the sticking issues. The nation is now assured of continued service delivery and we would like to make it clear that we will continue to improve the condition of service for the workers,” said Professor Mavima.
Government Team Leader in the Health Service Bipartite Negotiating Panel, Dr Maxwell Hove said as the Health Services Board they are pleased with the outcome considering the current macro-economic environment.
“The discussions have been going on for close to a month and there were areas of concern on both sides. Yes, following patient negotiations we signed the agreement,” said Dr Hove.
According to the Public Service Commission (PSC), the government remains committed to making sure that civil servants are motivated to be more productive given their critical role in the attainment of the economic aspirations under vision 2030.
