The Zimbabwe government has disclosed that the cushioning allowance it is giving civil servants starting Friday is 40 percent of salary, putting to rest speculation on what it has laid on the table for its restive workers.
The Public Service Commission (PSC) last Saturday announced a wage top-up for the employees to cushion them against rising prices but did not say how much exactly it would be dolling out.
Minister of Information, Publicity and Broadcasting Services Monica Mutsvangwa said the cost-of-living salary adjustment would be paid into the bank accounts of civil servants starting Friday.
The adjustment and the continuation of a 75 U.S. dollars a month COVID-19 allowance are interim steps taken by the government to cushion its employees while the negotiations are in progress.
Mutsvangwa said the government was aware of the hardships the workers were facing and assured them that the government was committed to improving their welfare, the Herald reported Friday.
“Normally, the government does not affect salary adjustments without a signed agreement, but we have had to go out of our way to cushion our dedicated workers.
Negotiations at the National Joint Negotiating Council will continue and any agreement arrived at will be honored in the spirit of collective bargaining.
“Government has had a long history of negotiating with its workers in good faith and increases negotiated should not work against the stability that has been achieved on the financial markets and price stability as this will fuel inflation again and erode the gains we have achieved,” she said.
Schools re-opened for examination classes on Monday, but the majority of teachers in government schools have stayed away saying that they cannot afford to report for duty.
