Civil servants get salary increment

Government Friday awarded civil servants a salary increment which will see a $31 rise in the basic salary of the lowest-earning employee.

The least-paid government worker will now get a basic salary of $159, up from $128, while housing allowance has been pegged at $50 from $30 and transport allowance at $44 from $28, bringing the total package to $253, which is half of the poverty datum line figure currently pegged at $502.

The Apex Council, which represents all civil servants, accepted the increase although the Progressive Teachers’ Union of Zimbabwe (PTUZ), which has called for a teachers’ strike, dismissed the increment as paltry.

This story is for NewsDay subscribers.