Pretty Manyewe
Government`s decision to acknowledge its workers through a United States dollar facility has been lauded by workers` unions as a worthy form of encouragement.
Government recently announced that there will be an end of year cheque for all its workers who stood brave and opted to keep this country running, even during Covid-19.
In an interview, Zimbabwe Confederation of Public Sector Trade Unions (ZCPSTU) Mr Secretary General David Dzatsunga said the bonus will lesser pressure on family incomes.
“It`s an admission that a part of Government that the economy has essentially dollarized as most goods and services are being charged in USD.
Basically it is already a de facto USD economy and it’s all along excluding workers. Hence, I think it’s an admission on the Government and we are happy that it has dawned on the Government that certainly there shouldn’t be sections of the workforce or the economy that is excluded and I think it got an inclusionary effect. Certainly for us we hope that this is a start that coming into the New Year, Government will reset and agree to our demands that salaries be paid in USD,” said Dzatsunga.
He went on to highlight that this will be beneficial to civil servants as they will have a stable currency which is not subjected to inflation and exchange rate manipulations.
Government has confirmed that USD bonus payouts for civil servants will be calculated using the official bank rate which is $97.1361
Permanent Secretary of the Ministry of Information, Publicity and Broadcasting Services, Mr Nick Mangwana, through his twitter account explained the modalities of the bonus.
“If you are a civil servant and your salary is say ZW$30000, your bonus will be US$308.85 after dividing by 97.1361 which is the official rate,” wrote Mr Mangwana.
The President of Zimbabwe Confederation of Public Sector Trade Unions (ZCPSTU), Cecilia Alexander said they have already been made up to speed with the distribution of the funds.
“The bonus will be deposited into the civil servants’ nostro account which every public servant has and will be accessed as USD and the bank dated charged will be dealt with by monetary authorities,” said Alexander.
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