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Sikhulekelani Moyo, [email protected]

ZIMBABWE Confederation of Public Sector Unions (ZCPSU) has expressed concern over the depreciation of civil servants’ purchasing power saying that the situation has worsened following price increase in both United States dollars and in local currency which is being affected by exchange rates.

In the 2024 National Budget, the US$300 which was being received by civil servants as Covid-19 allowance has been converted to a basic salary, which has seen it being subjected to tax and other deductions.

This has seen them receiving between US$200 and US$260 as their take home amount.

Responding to questions sent to her by Business Chronicle, ZCPSU chairperson Mrs Cecilia Alexander said the conversion of the Covid-19 allowance was a welcome development.

She however said as a trade union, they were hoping that the Government will increase salaries for civil servants in January as the 2024 National Budget came to effect.

Mrs Alexander said since the commencement of this year, there hasn’t been any negotiations between the Government and stakeholders in terms of the cushioning of civil servants, therefore, she said they are expecting to engage next week concerning the worsening economic situation for civil servants.

Covid-19

“The conversion of the allowance to a basic salary was a welcome move, but now we are in a worse situation because the salary now does not match with the prices of basic goods.

“We want the Government to unpack the envelope for civil servants since the 2024 National Budget became effective in January, but there hasn’t been any engagement as of yet and we are in mid-February and it’s a matter of concern,” she said.

“We have been in a discussion with representatives in Government and we are expecting to meet next week with the employer and it’s not proper for the Government to give us salary increment for March but we also want back pays for January and February since the National Budget became effective in January.”

She said the deductions of the US dollar component are a backward move which is taking them far away from US$540 monthly salary, which they have been advocating for.

“We want to take home US$300 before anything. The Government should increase the gross salary so that even after deductions civil servants will take home US$300 and the local currency component,” said Mrs Alexander.

To cushion its workers from a difficult economic situation, the Government has timeously reviewed their packages.

This has also seen the Government introducing non-monetary benefits, which include a car import scheme which allows qualifying civil servants to buy personal-use vehicles of their choice.

It increases their salaries as and when the situation demands and at the  height of the Covid-19 outbreak, introduced a monthly allowance, which was US$75 at first and was later increased to US$300.

It is this allowance which brought smiles on civil servant’s faces as their purchasing power improved.

However, they are now pocketing less than they did a few months ago.–@SikhulekelaniM1