Zimbabwe’s civil servants have given the government until next Wednesday to respond to their demands for better pay and remuneration or face an indefinite nationwide strike, APA learned in Harare on Friday.
The Apex Council, an umbrella group of all Zimbabwean civil servants, said Friday that it was mobilizing its members for a nationwide strike starting Thursday following the collapse of negotiations with Public Service Minister Lucia Matibenga earlier this week.
Apex Council chairperson Tendai Chikowore said negotiations with Matibenga on Wednesday had failed to break the deadlock over government workers’ demand for a salary increment of more than 100 percent and market-based allowances.
The workers are demanding a minimum salary of about $502 per month, from the current $250 a month.
Chikowore said Matibenga had asked for more time to consult on the workers’ demands and was due to provide feedback on Tuesday, failing which the civil servants would embark on an indefinite strike.
Finance Minister Tendai Biti has refused to budge on the civil servants’ demands, insisting that the government was broke.
The workers have apparently been angered by the recent government decision to award parliamentarians and ministers hefty allowances and vehicle loans.
Source African Press Agency
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