Civil servants promised heaven on earth

It has been reported in The Herald that Charamba insists that the government is concerned with the welfare of its workers and that very soon, civil servants will be earning ‘handsomely’.

Speaking to the state-owned Herald, Charamba said,“This Covid-19 salary review does not preclude or outlaw ongoing collective bargaining, if anything, it is an extra string on the bow of union leaders because the sum effect of this 50 per cent salary review plus allowances is to move towards the poverty datum line. They must sing hallelujah and say we have had this gain from a compassionate employer which brings us nearer to the poverty datum line, that means we still have an opportunity of pushing for yet another significant review which will be accommodated in the Midterm Review and also Supplementary Budget,”

Charamba slammed the union workers who had dismissed the recent salary increase and USD allowance, saying the civil servants should be grateful because the government increased salaries on its own accord.“You can’t stand in the way of compassion in the name of unionism. Zimbabwe will be a first in the world to have civil servants who go on strike on account of the employer’s benevolence, the employer has decided to show compassion without the rigmarole of collective bargaining, you can’t get incensed with the employer improving your welfare, in any case, they cannot protest on newspaper pages while they accept the same facility on their payslips. It will be a real lack of leadership on the part of the unionists,”

Charamba said that in about 3 months, the civil servants will be earning handsomely,“Speaking from where I sit, there is huge sympathy for the bargaining efforts of the civil servants through their unions. Which means at the end of the day, come three months, we are likely to see a civil servant who is earning handsomely, the key thing being we don’t want to cause shocks that we are experiencing now where the money is eroded by inflation,”

Workers unions have dismissed the 50 per cent salary increase and the US$75 allowance arguing that the inflation of well over 700 per cent has made the gesture meaningless.