Kudzai Bare, Staff Reporter
THE crippling civil servants strike, which threatened the smooth operations of the inclusive government, has fizzled out in its fourth week with State workers at most key institutions reporting for duty.
A snap survey at some of the government departments by The Financial Gazette showed that most employees have abandoned the job action after it became increasingly clear they were bashing their heads against the wall.
Civil servants, who are among the least paid workers in the country, are demanding a minimum salary of US$630, but the cash-strapped government, still trying to get on its feet after a decade of economic decay, has offered an increment of only US$17 from its drying coffers.
Civil servants are currently earning between US$150 and US$270.
In most schools visited in Harare, it was business as usual.
Workers at the passport and immigration offices were busy at work while patients were being attended to at Parirenyatwa and Harare Central hospitals.
This week, members of the Apex Council, the grouping of civil servants unions, claimed that teachers, who have returned to work, were receiving incentives from parents while some government workers including nurses were getting extra cash from non-governmental organisations.
“These teachers are not striking because they are getting money from parents. They are giving in to exploitation by the elite and delaying the process of settling the dispute with the government,” said Oswald Madziva, the Progressive Teachers Union of Zimbabwe (PTUZ)’s programmes and communications officer.
The president of the Apex Council, Tendai Chikowore, said there have been reports of intimidation and threats on the striking workers by some elements in the government.
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