THE Zimbabwe Teachers’ Association (Zimta) has said government’s unilateral decision to scrap bonuses for its workers will “de-professionalise” the civil service and drive many into moonlighting to augment their meagre salaries.
Zimta national secretary-general John Mlilo said civil servants would find alternative ways to cover their legitimate needs beyond the reach of their salaries.
“As a labour body, we see this as a move to de-professionalise civil servants, who may no longer need to rely on their work income, but would be moonlighting to cover for the legitimate expectation which has since been taken away from them,” he said.
Mlilo said government should have engaged all stakeholders before making the public announcement that it had suspended awarding bonuses to its employees.
He said their anger was exacerbated by the fact that government chose to sidestep the National Joint Negotiating Council (NJNC), which was the right platform to use.
Mlilo said the matter should have been tabled for discussion at the NJNC meeting held on April 10, 2015.
The NJNC is the government and workers’ consultation platform where all labour-related issues were discussed.
“As workers, we had been putting hope on the promises made by the government, and we were negotiating in good faith and expecting our salaries and conditions of service to improve, but the suspension of our bonuses has been the biggest betrayal ever,” Mlilo said.
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He said they felt betrayed after promises made in the past by President Robert Mugabe that government was working to address its employees’ grievances.
