Government has threatened to revoke salaries for civil servants who are not reporting for work in protest over poor salaries as the impasse between the State and its employees continues to escalate.

Public Service minister Paul Mavima said government would not hesitate to implement a “no-work-no-salary” principle, but at the moment it was still committed to negotiations with civil servants for an amicable solution.

Government last week dangled a 70% pay rise offer, which was rejected by civil servants who argued that government was negotiating in bad faith.

Civil servants want to be paid between US$520 and US$550, which they received in 2018 before the government reintroduced the local currency.

The National Joint Negotiating Council (NJNC) meeting last week was described by civil servants as a “damp squib” for failing to resolve the contentious salaries issue.

“We can’t have that (no work) prior to a declaration of a disagreement and even if there was a declaration of a disagreement, there will be an arbitration process and that arbitration process will be given an opportunity to go forward prior to the engagement in industrial action. So there is no basis whatsoever that while we are negotiating, civil servants will not go to work,” Mavima said.

“This is where the government is saying if that happens then we will implement the no-work-no- pay principle because we still have an opportunity to continue with the discussions until we reach an agreement.

“Like I said, any variation in the government offer which comes from the negotiations will be then effective at an appropriate time and if backdated, with the necessary backdating,” he said.

Mavima said at the moment, there was one last opportunity to meet with the restive civil servants and the engagements were being taken seriously by the government.

“We go back to consultations within the government to see if there is any variation which can be done on the offer and then we convene another NJNC meeting based on that,” he said.

Mavima  denied that the government was negotiating in bad faith adding: “How does the government negotiate in bad faith when it has offered a certain percentage payable now and then in June? What is bad faith there?

-Newsday