Civil Servants Await Govt Response On Forex Salaries Demand
Civil servants are pushing the Government to pay their salaries in foreign currency with renewed confidence after they received forex bonuses in November.
The Apex Council and Government representatives held a National Joint Negotiating Committee (NJNC) meeting on Tuesday to deliberate on the welfare of Government workers.
Speaking to State media on Wednesday, Apex council president Cecelia Alexander said they reiterated their call to be paid salaries in foreign currency. Said, Alexander:
We had a meeting with the Government team and we stated that we want our salaries to be paid in foreign currency.
We are waiting for Government response. The Government negotiating team indicated that it will come back to us early next month.
Our position is that our salaries should be pegged based on the October 2018 value when a teacher was being paid US$528 and US$440 for the least paid in Government.
She said the payment of bonuses in forex was proof that the Government now has the capacity to pay salaries in forex.
Civil servants are also lobbying the Government to address transport challenges through increasing Public Service Commission (PSC) buses.
Public Service, Labour and Social Welfare Minister Paul Mavima said he was yet to get a report from the Government’s team.
Meanwhile, earlier this month, Finance and Economic Development Minister Mthuli Ncube said civil servants will continue receiving their salaries in Zimbabwe dollars.
