New blow to reeling Zimbabwe – State workers threaten to walk off the job

SA Times
By Moses Mudzwiti
25 March 2009

A POWERFUL Zimbabwe labour organisation yesterday warned of a looming crisis as state workers prepare to strike over wages.

Zimbabwe’s has about 150000 state workers. Incredibly, they all earn the same — a miserly US100 (R1000) shopping voucher a month.

The rest of their pay is made up of worthless Zimbabwe dollars.

“In the police and army, everyone is getting US100,” said Lovemore Matombo, president of the Zimbabwe Congress of Trade Unions.

Matombo said he was aware that teachers were planning to go on strike to press for better wages.
Last month, teachers accepted the vouchers as a temporary solution. Initially they were demanding US2 300 a month.

The Congress of Trade Unions said it was pressing the month-old inclusive government to pay salaries in US dollars or in rands.

But the labour body said it was less than optimistic about an amicable resolution.

“This is a crisis,” said Matombo. “What we hear is that the government has no money.”

Education Minister David Coltart told the state-controlled media at the weekend that Zimbabwe would have to rely on donors to meet teachers’ pay demands.

Coltart said the teachers’ demands were difficult to meet because the government was “battling” to find money to fund the shopping vouchers.

Earlier this month, Finance Minister Tendai Biti revised the country’s budget and cut the government’s planned spending by US500-million to US1-billion. The only trouble was … there was no money in the treasury.

“The government is dead broke,” said Matombo.

“Even members of parliament are earning US100 a month.”