Harare -
Zimbabwe's civil servants on Friday launched an open-ended strike
for a more than four-fold hike to their salaries, piling pressure
on the strained unity government struggling to fix the economy.
"Our members have declared that they are not going to work from
today," said Cecilia Alexander, president of the Public Service
Association, an umbrella body for the civil servants' unions.
The government has proposed increases of between seven and $21
for civil servants, who are paid a flat rate of $150
(€110). They say their wages do not cover even basic living
expenses.
The unions want salaries to begin from $630.
"They say they will not come back to work until government gives
them something meaningful, some reasonable, something acceptable,"
Alexander said after a rally with 4 000 workers in Harare.
Government workers reluctantly returned to the job one year ago
as veteran President Robert Mugabe and his rival Morgan Tsvangirai
formed a power-sharing cabinet to end spiralling political violence
and an economic freefall.
Most doctors, nurses, teachers and other government workers had
been forced to seek other employment as their salaries evaporated
under world-record hyperinflation.
They were lured back to work only when the government abandoned
the worthless local currency, and Tsvangirai promised to pay them
in US dollars.
But the cash-strapped government said it could only afford to
pay a uniform monthly salary of $150, regardless of position
or experience.
Donors have helped keep medical staff on the job by
supplementing salaries for public health, but most government
workers say they struggle make ends meet.
"The people are agitated," Alexander said. "The government is
responsible for this. They have taken a very time to address the
plight of the workers. We have been very patient for a long time.
The money we earn is so little we don't know whether to call it
pocket money, a tip or a token of appreciation."
She said the lowest paid workers should receive $630,
which the unions estimate is what an average family of five needs
to get by.
The strike is the first by the 230 000 civil servants since the
formation of the power-sharing government.
While the new government has stabilised the economy and
political violence has eased, Mugabe and Tsvangirai are still
bickering over the allocation of top government posts.
A constitution-writing project, meant to pave the way to new
elections, has stalled. Tsvangirai's supporters continue to face
treason charges that they say are politically motivated.
The feuding has detracted from Zimbabwe's efforts to attract
investment and rebuild shattered industries.
Finance Minister Tendai Biti said on Wednesday that government
simply did not have the cash to meet workers' demands.
"Government is not a productive sector," Biti said in the
state-controlled Herald newspaper. "Our revenue levels remain
depressed. We cannot draw water from a stone."
Tendai Chikowore, head of the Zimbabwe Teachers' Association,
told the workers' rally that the pay dispute had raised doubts
about the unity government.
"When the government of national unity was formed, we rejoiced
as we thought it was the political panacea to our socio-political
and economic challenges, but today we wonder whether this was the
correct premise," he said.
"Today there is bickering over this and that. The bickering
seems to be more about the scramble to high-spending lifestyle of
luxurious vehicles."
- Sapa-AFP