By A Correspondent| Health workers here have declared incapacitation as of Tuesday 16 July 2019 due to the prevailing economic challenges affecting the country.

The workers declared their incapacitation through the Health Apex and Civil Service Apex Council.

The organisations issued a joint notice in which they lamented the erosion of their salaries.

They are demanding RTGS$4 700 monthly salaries for the lowest-paid worker.

Said the two Councils in their joint statement:

The Councils are not asking for an increment but a restoration of the value of their earnings which fell from at least USD475 to a mere USD47 currently for the lowest-paid Civil Servant.

In arriving at a figure for a cost of living adjustment, the interbank market rate must apply benchmarked against the pre-October 2018 average of USD475 salary for the lowest-paid civil servant.

This will, therefore, mean that the lowest-paid worker should ZW$4750 to restore the value of their earnings.

… The current reforms announced by the Minister of Finance which saw the abandonment of the multicurrency regime should not erode the purchasing value of salaries which should remain at USD475 for the lowest paid civil servant premised on the interbank rate.

The two apex councils, therefore, reiterate that the current salaries of at least USD40 (interbank rate) have resulted in the incapacitation and that failure of the government to restore the value of salaries will leave the two Apex councils with no choice but to declare incapacitation.

The two apex councils are concerned with the Minister of finance’s propensity to make pronouncements that should ordinarily be made by the Public Service Minister which undermines statutory social dialogue framework

The write up therefore informs the powers that be from now 16 July all civil servants are incapacitated to report for duty.