Govt non-committal on civil servants salary hike

Published: 08 April 2014

The Government is still mobilising resources to ensure it fulfils its promise to increase salaries for civil servants this month, a senior official said on Monday.

The Government last year pledged to increase civil servants salaries to Poverty Datum Line levels of around $511 this year with the increments staggered through the year.

Salary negotiations held early in the year, however, saw the Government agreeing to increase the salaries to about three quarters of the PDL (slightly less than $400) for the lowest paid workers. Payment date for the increment was shifted to this month.

But with one week left before civil servants start receiving their salaries, Finance and Economic Development permanent secretary Willard Manungo on Monday was not explicit that Government would honour its undertaking.

Manungo was presenting oral evidence before the Parliamentary Portfolio Committee on Finance and Economic Development.

Asked whether the Government would stick to its promise on the civil servants salary increase, Manungo responded.

"As Government a commitment was made and negotiations were held early this year with regards to the review. Through the negotiating forum, we signed up to numbers and indications that the Minister of Finance (Patrick Chinamasa) had given is that this will take effect from April."

He added: "Us, as Treasury are in the process of mobilising the requisite resources to ensure that in April, we deal with this obligation that we have already signed up to."

The issue of salary increments remains a hot potato given the continued increase in the cost of living. President Robert Mugabe has insisted that the Government remained committed to improving the conditions of service for civil servants despite the prevailing harsh economic environment.

- New Ziana