HARARE City Council workers are demanding a 500 percent salary increment after their bosses\u2019 earnings have been raised by 300 percent.<\/p>\n
The city council\u2019s lowest paid worker is earning around $1 000.<\/p>\n
Harare Municipal Workers Union executive chairman, Cosmas Bungu said in a statement this past week that the majority of city workers have been condemned to poverty through their tiny wages.<\/p>\n
He accused authorities at Town House for doing nothing about the situation.<\/p>\n
\u201cCouncil\u2019s senior management hiked their salaries by 300 percent and it is in accordance with the Collective Bargaining Agreement between the city\u2019s executive and the responsible authorities.<\/p>\n
\u201cTherefore, it is only fair that since the executive demands were met, the city should now do the same to their employees in grades 5 to 16 to curb and protect them from the harsh economic instabilities our country is facing by increasing salary by 500 percent,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
Bungu said the current scenario was demotivating and further warned this could worsen the workers\u2019 plight.<\/p>\n
\u201cCurrent situation demotivates workers and does not encourage positive morals among workers who end up being absent from work as they have no money and cannot do their job wholeheartedly, hence we urge council executives to ensure that workers get a living wage.\u201d<\/p>\n
Bungu accused the MDC dominated local authority of abandoning the same workers who helped form the main opposition in 1999 with the Zimbabwe Congress of Trade Unions forming the nucleus of the party.<\/p>\n
\u201cSalaries have to be above poverty datum line considering that the city leadership comes from a political dispensation formed using workers\u2019 union contributions to Zimbabwe Congress Trade of Unions and was used to kick start MDC.<\/p>\n
\u201c\u2026They cannot be seen as failing to recognise workers\u2019 rights with Government now taking the lead on employee remuneration.\u201d<\/p>\n
Reports say Town Clerk, Engineer Hosiah Chisango now earns $32 912, including a stationery and education allowance of $2 904.<\/p>\n
Further reports say city directors earn between $25 000 and $28 000.<\/p>\n
Bungu said while executives get school fee allowances, workers\u2019 children were dropping out of school for failure to meet the fees.<\/p>\n
In an interview with NewZimbabwe.com, Harare City Council\u2019s corporate communications manager Michael Chideme said he could not comment on the matter as yet.<\/p>\n
\u201cRemember the matter has to be tabled before the full council meeting and I can only comment on the issue after this. For now, I\u2019m not at liberty to say anything,\u201d Chideme said.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
HARARE City Council workers are demanding a 500 percent salary increment after their bosses\u2019 earnings have been raised by 300 percent. The city council\u2019s lowest paid worker is earning around $1 000. Harare Municipal Workers Union executive chairman, Cosmas Bungu said in a statement this past week that the majority of city workers have been […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":84,"featured_media":18550,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[3,4],"tags":[224,91],"class_list":{"0":"post-18547","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-all-news","8":"category-community","9":"tag-council","10":"tag-harare"},"yoast_head":"\n