Zimbabwe to offer public servants 100% pay rise

Zimbabwe has awarded civil servants a 100% salary increment as part of efforts to improve their welfare, the government-owned daily The Herald reports.

The review includes an improved $250 Covid-19 allowance for all civil servants and an $80 monthly allowance for teachers, a statement from the finance ministry is quoted as saying.

The review takes effect from 1 March in the security sector and 1 April for the rest of the civil service, a finance ministry official is quoted as saying.

A representative of the teachers’ union interviewed by the newspaper said the review was “exciting” but said the increment of Covid-19 allowance was still low.

A nurses association representative said more talks were scheduled on Wednesday over the allowance.

In 2020, the Zimbabwean government said it could not afford to increase salaries during a doctors’ strike that lasted more than four months, paralysing the country’s healthcare sector.