Zimbabwe Govt, Civil Servants Fail to Reach Consensus on Delayed Salaries
“We are inviting all civil servants and (other) Zimbabweans to a sit-in at the Ministry of Finance offices on July 1st until a solution to the economic crisis is availed."
WASHINGTON D.C. — Government ministers and civil servants' representatives again Monday reached another deadlock over pay dates, with the workers insisting that they be paid June salaries immediately instead of next month as proposed by the employer. According to a source who attended the meeting, the government later pledged to pay each worker $100 by this Friday as advance payment to enable them to report for duty until their pay day but workers’ representatives, through the Apex Council, said they wanted to consult their members first before committing themselves to anything. The Rural Teachers’ Union of Zimbabwe has already announced that it will embark on a sit-in at Finance Minister Patrick Chinamasa’s offices beginning July 1 until they are paid their June salaries. Rural Teachers Union of Zimbabwe secretary-general, Robson Chere, said because nothing favorable came out of the meeting, they were planning to go ahead with the planned industrial action. “We are inviting all civil servants and Zimbabweans to a sit-in at the Ministry of Finance offices on July 1 until a solution to the economic crisis is availed,” Chere said. The government announced it was unable to pay its workers June salaries on time, and had shifted the pay dates to mid-July, a move resisted by civil servants under the Apex Council. Labour Minister Prisca Mupfumira, Finance Minister Chinamasa and Health Minister David Parirenyatwa together with Reserve Bank of Zimbabwe governor John Mangudya and Civil Service Commission officials met with civil servants representatives to try and break the impasse. But already many unions have hinted that their members will not go beyond July 1 without being paid June salaries. Studio 7 failed to reach Minister Mupfumira for a comment. Government says it is struggling to raise funds due to a depressed economic environment.