CIVIL servants yesterday said they will treat the 2015 bonus payment schedule, recently announced by government, with scepticism, claiming the message had not yet been properly communicated to them.
BY OBEY MANAYITI
Apex Council president, Richard Gundane said government should have directly communicated with civil servants’ representatives than convey the message through the media.
Finance minister Patrick Chinamasa told State media on Wednesday that the government had come up with dates for the payment of civil servants starting with the Zimbabwe Defence Forces this month, Zimbabwe Republic Police and Zimbabwe Prisons and Correctional Services as well as the health sector in March, followed by the education sector in April and lastly the rest of the civil servants in May.
Gundane said they would seek clarity on the dates when they meet as National Joint Negotiating Council on February 10.
“I think we have been fighting to get the dates from the government. We woke up today (yesterday) to the news that bonuses will be paid from February up to May. That political pronouncement is in the right direction,” he said.
“However, you will realise that for us leaders to speak confidently about those timelines, we need to get it directly from the minister. There is also no clarity on dates, but we are going to meet as the National Joint Negotiating Council on February 10 to get clarity.”
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Gundane said the government should plan and come up with dates for the 2016 bonuses in time to minimise mistrust with civil servants.
Zimbabwe Nurses’ Association secretary-general, Enoch Dongo said they welcomed the move.
The Rural Teachers’ Union of Zimbabwe (RTUZ) said the timelines announced by government were meant to thwart plans by the union’s members to go on strike starting on February 15.
RTUZ said although the announcement came as good news, they still had other outstanding issues that include the unilateral 7,5% pension deduction and cancellation of vacation leave for teachers.
