(Last Updated on September 26, 2022 by ZIMDAILY EDITOR)
HARARE – Teacher unions under the banner of the Federation of Zimbabwe Educators Unions (FOZEU) have scoffed at the latest 25 percent USD component salary increment saying they are ready to listen to a genuine offer by the government.
In a statement, FOZEU threatened unspecified ‘robust action’ that they will take should the Government fail to table a realistic offer by the end of this month.
“This note serves to inform you, as well as the Public Service Commission, and the Ministry of Primary and Secondary Education, that members of FOZEU (ARTUZ, EUZ, PTUZ and PEUZ) will not be able to report for work from 26 September. The latest offer by government to civil servants, a paltry $25 for the USD component only, is not enough to offset the herculean economic challenges facing our members. It is a known fact that our members were incapacitated before receiving their salaries, and remain incapacitated even after receiving the inconsequential salaries and the promised increment.
“We are calling on government to treat our situation with urgency and call for a realistic, all-inclusive meeting before the end of this coming week. We are also ready to listen to a realistic offer for our pauperized members. If government has not tabled a realistic offer by the end of this month, we will take more robust action,” read the FOZEU statement.
Following negotiations during the National Joint Negotiation Committee (NJNC) meeting last week, government increased the US dollar wage component by US$25 starting September 1, 2022.
Meaning that civil servants will now be getting US$200 as the foreign currency component, up from US$175 that they have been getting. The money comprises an unaltered US$75 a month in Covid-19 allowance plus, now, US$125 a month as the standard US dollar portion, up from US$100, the local currency component of government workers’ wages remains static.