Civil servants have vowed to go ahead with their planned industrial action after the government failed to address their demands within the two-week notice period for incapacitation.
Addressing the press on Friday, the Zimbabwe Confederation of Public Sector Trade Unions (ZCPSTU) president Cecelia Alexander said the two-week strike will be a precursor to a long-planned action set for September.
“Civil servants in the health, education, and rest of the civil service will proceed to a national two-day strike on Wednesday 27 July 2022 and Thursday 28 July 2022. The two-day work stoppage will be peremptory to a longer action in September if the employer does not meet our demands,” said Alexander.
She added that they will only stop the industrial action if the government restores the value of their wages to the pre-October 2018 level with immediate effect.
“We demand the government to stop the wave of suspensions, summary dismissals, illegal disallowances, and victimization of teachers and nurses for exercising their constitutional right to organize and to a fair and reasonable wage and the payment of a medical allowance to all civil servants without discrimination,” said Alexander.
ZCPSTU also urged the government to desist from bashing union leadership for exercising their representative roles as messengers of their voiceless membership.
“The employer should implement all collective agreements fully as in school fees payment for the children of educators, regrading and performance advancement,” added Alexander.
The government has refused to cave in to demands by civil servants to pay them in United States dollars.
