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The Government is continuing to show its commitment to improving the salaries and working conditions of civil servants after further agreeing to increase their salaries by 2,5 percent on Thursday, reflecting an overall 17,5 percent review.

Two weeks ago, the Government awarded a 10 percent salary increase but its workers were not impressed. Negotiations continued, resulting in the employer increasing its offer to 15 percent.  Still civil servants were unhappy and talks continued until a deal was reached when they agreed that the salaries be improved by 17,5 percent with effect from July.

That the economic environment is tough goes without saying. The economy has not performed to expectations over the past decade or so. Many companies are down and others are just surviving.  Yes, there are signs that the viability of businesses will improve, but results always take long to show.  Because many companies, who pay the taxes that make up much of Government revenues, aren’t operating at all or are limping on, thus completely not paying any taxes or are defaulting, the public purse is thin.

As revenue inflows are low, the Government took a decision to concentrate more on welfare issues and less on other expenditure, which is why the public sector wage bill accounts for more than 90 percent of the budget. This means that all other obligations have to be covered by the remaining 10 percent or so.

It is an unpleasant situation where the Government spends so much on consumption, but looked at from another angle; this is a clear demonstration of the commitment by authorities to improving the welfare of its workers. Apart from agreeing to increase their salaries and allowances even as the wage bill already accounts for so much of income, the employer has agreed to review a range of other benefits that had not been looked at since 2016.

Under the agreement cash-in-lieu of vacation leave in excess of 123 days maximum accrual for teachers will be paid on a staggered basis from July to December this year. The vacation leave days being paid for came after Government rescinded its decision to bar teachers from going on vacation leave. In 2016, the Government prohibited teachers from going on leave saying it did not have enough money to pay relief teachers. This meant that educators continued to work; accruing leave days they were unable to take.

Also, rentals that civil servants pay for institutional accommodation they use will, with effect from July, be aligned to appropriate levels of their housing allowance and grades.

The Thursday agreement is good in the circumstances we are in now and must be supported.

It is important because it improves the living conditions of civil servants, which had deteriorated to pathetic levels in recent years. Because of low salaries, it is impossible for one to pick out a teacher from a rural crowd. They have just become as poor and nondescript as the villagers whose children they teach.

Many cannot afford to send their children to the school they teach. The condition that teachers are in is not too different from that which other civil servants have been condemned to.

Also, the deal is important because it engenders the stability that we all want, where there are no threats of strikes and other disruptive industrial action. It is commendable too because children will be served as consistently as they deserve so they get an education that is sustainable in the long term.

Civil servants are happy with the deal. Apex Council chairperson, Mrs Cecelia Alexander, said this on Thursday. The Rural Teachers’ Union of Zimbabwe (RTUZ) made this clear, adding that there is no possibility of a strike now.

“For the meantime we appreciate what the Government has done because they have realised that what we are earning is not enough and have put some laudable effort to rectify this in spite of the current economic hardships in the country,” RTUZ vice president Mr Gibson Mushangu said.

“What made us accept the offer temporarily was that we would not gain anything if protracted negotiations continued. It is better for our members to increase their coffers with that little percentage because our members really need the money. We have suspended any strike basing on the fact that we are going to meet again very soon for further discussions with government and also because we accept the offer that has been tabled thus far”.

We hope that Mr Mushangu is speaking for all other civil servants. However, considering the state of the economy now and the fact that a turnaround is certain soon as President Mnangagwa’s administration is working so hard for that to happen, we suggest that the latest deal should be the last for now.

This will enable authorities to focus on growing the economy without increasing consumptive expenditure. Only after the national cake has grown should the civil servants agitate for more salaries.  We also suggest that the Government must stop entertaining any more demands; doing this not in a brash manner, but through honestly explaining to its workers that focus must be on recovering and growing the economy first before more is spent on their wages.