HARARE – Civil servants would all have been paid their 2018 bonuses by Friday, November 30, the Finance Ministry announced as unions decried what they termed “paltry” payouts.
The cash-strapped government bowed to pressure from unions to pay its workers a 13th cheque, but Finance Minister Mthuli Ncube tweaked the terms to exclude allowances with only the basic pay set to double.
Military, health, police and prison service staff were paid their bonuses on Wednesday. Teachers – who form the bulk of the civil service – were receiving their bonuses on Thursday while the rest of the civil service will notice bonus payments in their accounts on Friday, according to Finance Ministry secretary George Guvamatanga.
Unions are furious with the government’s decision to compute bonuses from the basic salary only, to the exclusion of transport and housing allowances.
Zimbabwe Teachers’ Association (Zimta) President Richard Gundane said: “The government should desist from making unilateral changes to workers’ conditions of service. The unilateral exclusion of transport and housing allowances from bonus computation was a unilateral decision of the Ministry of Finance and Economic Development and it’s not justified.
“The Ministry of Finance should not act in bad faith. They must know that they still owe teachers the remaining balance. This will amount to a meagre and paltry bonus payment which will have no impact on the teachers’ plight.”
