HEALTH workers have declared incapacitation as of Tuesday owing to prevailing economic challenges in the country.
By Kudakwashe Pembere
The workers through the Health Apex Council claim their salaries have been eroded by the unpopular fiscal and monetary policies by Finance Minister Professor Mthuli Ncube.
In a joint notice by the Health Apex and Civil Service Apex Councils, the workers bemoaned the erosion of their salaries. They demanded ZWD4 700 as salary for the lowest paid worker.
“The Councils are not asking for an increment but a restoration of the value of their earnings which fell from at least USD475 to a mere USD47 currently for the lowest paid Civil Servant.
“In arriving at a figure for a cost of living adjustment, the interbank market rate must apply benchmarked against the pre-October 2018 average of USD475 salary for the lowest paid civil servant. This will therefore mean that the lowest paid worker should ZW$4750 to restore the value of their earnings,” said the Councils.
Both councils said the meetings with President Mnangagwa failed to yield expected results.
“The negotiation process be informed by the resolutions of the meetings between His Excellency ED Mnangagwa and the two Apex councils where the above was communicated and acknowledged by all parties including the Minister of Finance.
“The current reforms announced by the Minister of Finance which saw the abandonment of the multicurrency regime should not erode the purchasing value of salaries which should remain at USD475 for the lowest paid civil servant premised on the interbank rate,” said the Councils. “The two apex councils therefore reiterate that the current salaries of at least USD40 (interbank rate) have resulted in the incapacitation and that failure of government to restore value of salaries will leave the two Apex councils with no choice but to declare incapacitation.”
The Councils said Prof Ncube’s pronouncements of the civil service issue subverts negotiations.
“The two apex councils are concerned with the Minister of finance’s propensity to make pronouncements that should ordinarily be made by the Public Service Minister which undermines statutory social dialogue framework
“The write up therefore informs the powers that be from now 16 July all civil servants are incapacitated to report for duty,” they said.
