Civil Servants Wage Freeze: Government To Look Into Individual Cases
The government dragnet is being accused of catching some innocent teachers who were on leave or off their station at the time of the exercise.
WASHINGTON DC — More than 3,000 civil servants, who were struck off the government's payroll following an audit to flush out ghost workers recently, will present their case to the government on an individual basis with the help of their unions so they can prove they are bonafide state employees. The decision was reached Monday at a joint negotiating council meeting for civil servants in Harare. Yesterday the Zimbabwe Teachers Association, during its annual general meeting, had resolved to confront government over the issue as its members cried foul. Primary and Secondary Education Minister Lazarus Dokora told the meeting that he agreed with the teachers that the salary freeze was unfair. “What will happen to the students whose parents have been struck off the payroll? We’re working on establishing how ghostly the ghost workers are,” Dokora said. Come Monday, the workers rescinded the decision after government officials attending their meeting explained why it was important for the aggrieved parties to present their cases on an individual basis to their employer. Teachers make up to 1,000 of the 3,000 civil servants suspected of being ghost workers. The government dragnet is being accused of catching some innocent teachers who were on leave or away from their stations at the time of the audit. ZIMTA chief executive officer Sifiso Ndlovu says the government has promised to pay the affected civil servants within 48 hours once their cases are resolved. “We have agreed that after the paper work, including affidavits have been done, the payment is going to be done within 48 hours without waiting for the month-end,” he said.