Zimbabwe’s civil servants have declared a deadlocked in wage negotiations with the government and gave their employer a two-week ultimatum to meet their demands or face a job stoppage.
Unions representing Zimbabwean teachers, health workers and other state employees described the government’s offer of $236 a month for the highest paid worker as paltry and urged the cash-strapped government to urgently address the issue.
“We are giving the leadership of the country 14 days to decisively intervene on this issue as a matter of urgency,” the civil servants said in a statement Wednesday.
Government workers are demanding minimum salaries of $600 a month which they say would match the poverty datum line currently pegged at around $500. They currently earn $160 a month across the board.
A strike by teachers and health professionals would jeopardize efforts to revive social services that have collapsed under the weight of a decade-long political and economic crisis.
Source African Press Agency
