HARARE – The Public Service Commission (PSC) on Wednesday announced that US$75 Covid-19 allowances for civil servants will now be paid together with salaries in RTGS accounts.
The allowance, which could not be withdrawn as cash, was announced by treasury in June. Government workers were required to open United States dollar denominated foreign currency accounts into which the allowance was being deposited mid-month starting in July.
PSC secretary Jonathan Utawunashe told a news conference in Harare that the allowance would maintain the value of US$75 but now converted to RTGS at the prevailing foreign exchange auction rate.
“The US$75 allowance for civil servants for September 2020 will be paid today and going forward it will be paid on pay day, indexed to the prevailing RBZ foreign exchange auction rate,” he said.
He added: “The government is committed to continuously improve the working conditions of civil servants, and hopes that negotiations in the National Joint Negotiation Council (NJNC) to further improve emoluments for civil servants will be concluded soon.”
He said the allowance conversion into RTGS means that the least paid teacher is now earning a gross salary of ZW$12,591.15 (about US$153).
Teachers have been on strike since schools re-opened on September 28 as they press for better salaries. They said Utawunashe’s event on Wednesday was a “pointless game of smoke and mirrors.”
“This is a joke. The government intends to deceive the world into believing that they adjusted our salaries. To the contrary, they simply added current teacher income to the Covid-19 allowance and announced the total figure. Teachers have been earning the same inadequate income since July,” the Amalgamated Rural Teachers’ Union of Zimbabwe said.
Progressive Teachers’ Union of Zimbabwe (PTUZ) secretary general Raymond Majongwe added: “This means nothing. Teachers are still earning the same amount as yesterday. Our members will not go to work on the back of deception.”
Teachers’ unions are demanding US$520 salaries for the lowest paid, but the government says it is broke and negotiations have stalled.
