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Minister Goche

Harare Bureau
Civil servants will know their new salary structure on Wednesday when government negotiators and their representatives meet at the National Joint Negotiating Council, a Cabinet Minister has said.
Public Service, Labour and Social Welfare Minister Nicholas Goche said the government would also table proposals on non-monetary benefits during the meeting.

The government has already indicated that public sector workers will get their salary increments backdated to January this year as it was impossible to effect an increment this month without going to the NJNC, a platform that brings to the negotiating table the employer and workers.

“The negotiating teams are meeting on Wednesday and we have already informed the staff associations through a letter,” he said.
“The meeting will see government responding to their position paper which they submitted recently. We have our position as government and we will first reveal that position, what we have to offer and negotiate from there.”

The workers are demanding US$543 for the lowest paid civil servant and 30 percent of basic salary as rural allowance, to cushion civil servants working in rural areas.

The least-paid government worker currently gets US$297.
Civil servants also want non-monetary benefits, including land.

Minister Goche said the government had proposals on non-monetary benefits to discuss with the workers, chief among them housing.
He said civil servants would also be asked to table their ideas which would be fused with government proposals to come up with a solution.
“We have a two-pronged approach on the issue of housing,” he said.

“Government plans to build houses for its workers and though it is long term, that should be the norm. We cannot have a magistrate being transferred from Harare to Gokwe and on arrival he has nowhere to stay yet he is on government duty.

“The houses have also to be affordable and as such NSSA is putting aside a substantial amount to start that. It’s setting up a new financial fund to deal with that.”

Added Minister Goche: “The good thing is that the workers will participate in doing that by suggesting their ideas while we suggest what we can also do. I believe if we put our ideas together sincerely, then something positive would come up at the end of the day.”