President Robert Mugabe’s government has awarded a hefty salary hike to Zimbabwe’s magistrates and prosecutors, who have been on strike since October, official media reported on Sunday.
Zimbabwean workers have been hit hard by an economic crisis critics blame on Mugabe’s policies and has seen inflation jump to nearly 8 000%, the highest in the world.
Magistrates and prosecutors walked out of their jobs in October in protest against low pay, paralysing the judicial system. Several court cases had to be postponed.
The state-run Sunday Mail reported that the government had raised salaries to between Z$460-million ($15 333 at the official exchange rate but $230 on the widely used black market) and Z$1-billion. Previously, the lowest paid magistrate earned Z$20-million per month.
Doctors and nurses joined the job boycott in December, while teachers, the bulk of government employees, also threatened not to return to work when schools open for the new term next week.
Many government employees are failing to turn up for work because of rising transport costs.
”The employer has decided to pay all civil servants one half of the total package mid-month and the remaining half towards the end of the month to enable the officers and employees of government to continue coming to work,” the newspaper quoted senior Justice Ministry official David Mangota as saying.
Government officials and union representatives were not immediately available for comment.
Economic analysts have said Zimbabwe is likely to see more strikes by dissatisfied workers grappling with an economic recession marked by shortages of foreign currency, food and fuel, and rising unemployment. — Reuters