THE embattled Gweru City Council has been issued with a 14-day strike notice by its workers who are demanding a cost of living adjustment and a salary hike, while disgruntled residents have also given the local authority up to tomorrow to respond to maladministration issues unearthed recently by a probe team.<\/p>\n
In a notice seen by Southern Eye, signed by the Zimbabwe Urban Council Workers\u2019 Union\u2019s (ZUCWU) Gweru branch secretary, Ambrose Hwande, council employees say they will start picketing at Town House on August 13 and then go for a full strike from August 22.<\/p>\n
The letter was delivered to the Gweru Labour Court and copied to town clerk Elizabeth Gwatipedza, mayor Josiah Makombe, chamber secretary Vakai Douglas
\nChikwekwe and the Zimbabwe Republic Police.<\/p>\n
\u201cNotice is hereby given that from August 13, 2019, City of Gweru employees will engage in a demonstration and picketing. From August 22, it will be total
\nwithdrawal of labour against the employer\u2019s insensitivity to employees\u2019 cost of living adjustment and allowances request,\u201d the notice read.<\/p>\n
ZUCWU secretary-general and Midlands chairperson of the Zimbabwe Congress of Trade Unions, Kudakwashe Munengiwa said the workers\u2019 demands were justified.<\/p>\n
\u201cBasically, what the workers are demanding is a cost of living adjustment of $500 across the board which should be immediately paid and then adjustment of the salaries to match the prevailing US dollar rate on the interbank market. The employer is paying new prices that have been adjusted on every service rendered
\nlike fuel and hotel bills when officials travel. The only thing they have not adjusted are salaries of their own employees,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
Munengiwa said ZUCWU arrived at the $500 cushioning allowance figure after taking into consideration that the food basket for a standard family is currently
\npegged at $850 and the least paid council worker earns about $400.<\/p>\n
Makombe told Southern Eye that the workers\u2019 demands were genuine, but they should first wait for the supplementary budget.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat we are saying is that we know things are now expensive and people are suffering. But our hiccup is that we are still using expenditure figures drawn from
\nthe initial 2019 budget that has since been eroded by inflation. We cannot draw water from a stone. So our response is that workers should be patient and wait
\nuntil our supplementary budget is approved. That is where we can get more money. We also have service delivery to cater for,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
Meanwhile, Gweru Residents and Ratepayers\u2019 Association director Cornilia Selipiwe said the \u201cdeafening silence\u201d by the local authorities over issues raised in
\nthe probe team\u2019s report tabled last month, particularly failure to account for funds and anomalies in procuring equipment by the engineering department, among
\nothers was disturbing.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe report noted that in 2017 the Zimbabwe National Water Authority (Zinwa) advanced $1 million to council for the purchase of a pump and yet the local
\nauthority failed to account for the money,\u201d Selipiwe said. \u201cWhat is, however, worrying is lack of communication from the accounting officer who happens to be
\nthe town clerk.\u201d<\/p>\n
Selipiwe added: \u201cWe wonder why management is taking long to explain these issues and as residents we are giving them up to Friday to respond to allegations
\nraised in the report, failure which we will descend on council in our multitudes and demand answers.\u201d<\/p>\n
According to the report, there is allegedly no record on what the money received from Zinwa was used for or in which account it is being held.<\/p>\n
Gweru United Progressive Residents and Ratepayers Association Trust executive director David Chikore weighed in, saying council officials\u2019 silence was causing
\nspeculation among residents.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
THE embattled Gweru City Council has been issued with a 14-day strike notice by its workers who are demanding a cost of living adjustment and a salary hike, while disgruntled residents have also given the local authority up to tomorrow to respond to maladministration issues unearthed recently by a probe team. In a notice seen […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":84,"featured_media":12086,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[3,12],"tags":[224,168,713,212],"class_list":{"0":"post-12150","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-all-news","8":"category-policy","9":"tag-council","10":"tag-gweru","11":"tag-interbank","12":"tag-water"},"yoast_head":"\n