FAMILIES of civil servants who succumb to Covid-19, if
infected in the line of duty, will be looked after, with the Government
committed to paying a full year’s salary to families along with the normal
benefits payable to the family of a deceased civil servant.
Public Service Commission (PSC) Secretary Ambassador
Jonathan Wutawunashe yesterday confirmed the new measure, saying Treasury would
continue paying the salaries of the deceased to their dependants for 12 months.
Government continues to prioritise frontline workers who
have kept the nation on its wheels despite the danger posed by the pandemic.
“Government has committed to pay civil servants salaries
for a further 12 months if they succumb to the effects of Covid-19 after
contracting the virus in the line of duty. There are normal benefits they are
entitled to for their years of service. Nothing has changed; they will get that
one. But the extra remuneration for a further 12 months will be advanced to
their families by the Government.
“There is normal coverage of the medical expenses for all
civil servants and we are also taking care of the medical expenses for
frontline workers. That still stands,” he said.
Ambassador Wutawunashe outlined a number of benefits
extended to civil servants, saying the Government was still committed to what
it promised.
“We have adjusted a lot of things to protect our workers,
such as for how long can you be ill and still be paid a full salary. It has
been adjusted from 90 days to 180 days. We have also said that at any one time
we should have at least 15 percent of the workers reporting for duty at their
work stations,” said Ambassador Wutawunashe.
He gave an update on the issue of civil servants’ salary
negotiations that were scheduled to be concluded next month after delays caused
by Covid-19 restrictions.
The Government was expecting to meet the National Joint
Negotiating Council (NJNC) next week for the finalisation of negotiations on
the terms of employment, salaries and wages for civil servants.
“We expect the NJNC meeting to be done next week.
Hopefully, we will be able to finalise the salary increment for civil servants
in that meeting,” he said.
In an earlier interview Public Service, Labour and Social
Welfare Minister Professor Paul Mavima implored civil servants’ representatives
to be realistic in their demands.
This comes as some civil servants are calling for an
industrial action demanding a minimum salary of US$500.
On its part, the Government has made it clear there will be
no redollarisation and that all expenditure must be tied to revenue, with no borrowing
for recurrent expenditure; that is, all civil service pay must come out of tax
revenue. Herald
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