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President Emmerson Mnangagwa has pledged to address the plight of civil servants as the Second Republic remains firmly committed towards improving their welfare and working conditions.
This was revealed by the Zimbabwe Confederation of Public Sector Trade Unions (ZCPSTU) president Mrs. Cecilia Alexander in a statement to their members following their meeting with President Mnangagwa at the State House in Harare on Tuesday.
Mrs. Alexander said during the engagement with the President several issues revolving around the working conditions were discussed.
She said President Mnangagwa took note of the issues raised and promised to look into them.
“ZCPSTU leadership met His Excellency, President E.D Mnangagwa on 6 June 2023 at the State House to present issues meant to create enhanced labour harmony at the workplace. His Excellency took note of the issues presented and pledged to attend to them,” she said.
In his May Day speech, President Mnangagwa hailed workers for engaging in dialogue as opposed to resorting to strikes to find solutions to problems they faced at workplaces.
President Mnangagwa said Government was aware of the prevailing inflationary environment which is eroding buying power of the workers and said this was being attended to.
He said workers should build the country brick by brick, stone upon stone, towards the attainment of Vision 2030 which aims at transforming the country into a prosperous and empowered upper middle- income society within the next seven years.
Last year President Mnangagwa awarded civil servants a surprise US$200 Presidential bonus while in March this year, the Government awarded a 100 percent salary increase to its workers with the foreign component being increased from US$200 to US$250 across board while teachers were further cushioned with a US$80 teaching allowance.
In his Workers’ Day message, President Mnangagwa said dialogue was the most efficient vehicle for finding solutions to challenges, including those being experienced by workers, adding that as a listening President, his door was always open for more frequent engagements with the workers.
He further gave assurances that the Second Republic will continue respecting workers’ rights as enshrined in the Constitution. Recently the National Assembly removed a clause in the Labour Act that empowered employers to terminate employees’ contracts by simply giving them three months’ notice.
During debate in Parliament, Justice, Legal and Parliamentary Affairs Minister Ziyambi Ziyambi acceded to legislators’ arguments that Clause 8 which sought to amend Section 12 of the Labour Act be amended by removing the requirement of notice.
In an interview yesterday, Mrs. Alexander said during their meeting with President Mnangagwa members raised a number of pertinent issues revolving around their conditions of service and harmonization of the workplace.
She commended President Mnangagwa’s open door policy and readiness to listen to the plight of public sector workers. She also showered praise on the Government for granting them other non-monetary benefits
“Yes, ZCPSTU met His Excellency President Mnangagwa on Tuesday during which we articulated issues to do with our conditions of service and other matters, which unfortunately we cannot share with the public.
“His Excellency took note of our presentations and made an undertaking to attend to them,” said Mrs. Alexander.
“What I want to appreciate in public too is the President’s open-door policy and him being able to listen to the worker, and for that we want to thank him wholeheartedly.”
Speaking in an interview from Geneva, Switzerland, the Minister of Public Service, Labour and Social Welfare, Professor Paul Mavima said the engagement is further proof of President Mnangagwa’s sincerity in tackling issues affecting the labour force.
“These engagements only show that Government under the stewardship of His Excellency, President Mnangagwa is sincere on its excellent relationship with the workers and also addressing their needs.
“These needs are not just monetary, but general working conditions as well as the labour force is key in the fulfillment of the National Development Strategy 1 (NDS1) and attainment of Vision 2030,” he said.
Last year in November, President Mnangagwa commissioned 18 Public Service Commission (PSC) buses in Gwanda, Matabeleland South Province, under the Civil Service Rural Transport Scheme, which seeks to ease transport challenges faced by rural-based civil servants through providing them with reliable transport.
Source Chronicle
