“Review civil servants salaries before rewarding bonuses”-Govt urged. BY SAMUEL NJINGA IN MASVINGO. Teachers Unions have called for the government to quarterly review civil servants salaries well before rewarding bonuses. Progressive Teachers Union of Zimbabwe President, Takavafira
Zhou says awarding teachers’ bonus before completion of the quarterly review of their salaries
would be very unfair as this is likely to subject teachers into abject poverty and misery.
“We are calling for an urgent review of civil servants basic salaries well before they are awarded their bonuses. A basic salary of USD540 would be a reasonable figure for the majority of civil servants. It is also prudent that the government consider awarding bonus on both salaries as well as allowances.” Said Zhou. Amalgamated Rural Teachers Union of Zimbabwe, President, Obert Masaraure echoed the sentiments of his colleague as he called on government to award a bonus of 100% on gross salary. “Teachers have toiled for a long time without being meaningfully rewarded. Teachers have been working for years without being recognized. We are therefore tasking the government to award a bonus of 100% on both civil servants salaries as well as their allowances considering that they
have been working under extremely negative conditions. The income right now is far below the
poverty datum line.” Said Masaraure.
A general survey by this publication has revealed that the majority of civil servants are
experiencing serious problems as far as remuneration is concerned. This has obliged some of
them to resign while others are engaging in menial jobs so as to ensure that they bring food on
the table.