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Tsvangirai says Zim broke, cannot raise wages
[Mail and Globe] Zimbabwe's new unity government is broke and cannot meet union demands for higher wages, Prime Minister Morgan Tsvangirai said on Friday. Addressing a May Day rally, Tsvangirai said the government he formed with President Robert Mugabe in February to try to end a political and economic crisis that has brought Zimbabwe to ruin would maintain the current monthly salary of $100 that it is paying its workers. "This government is broke, and we are only able to pay the $100 allowance, but when things improve, we want this allowance to graduate into a proper salary," he said. "For now, everyone, all of us, including President Mugabe, is getting $100". Tsvangirai, a fiery former trade union chief, pleaded with Zimbabwe's Congress of Trade Unions (ZCTU) to give the new government time to fix the economy before pressing its demands for a minimum wage of $454. "We have been in office for less than three months. I plead with you to please give us time," he said. "Your demands must be realistic, taking into account that your government is broke and that industry has not been performing." Earlier, ZCTU president Lovemore Matombo told thousands of cheering workers at the rally that the labour movement would call national strikes and protests to press its case. "If this is not met, the workers are going on to the streets," Matombo said, without giving any deadline. Tsvangirai said although Mugabe was not an easy person to work with, both his Movement for Democratic Change (MDC) and the veteran president's ZANU-PF wanted the government to succeed in repairing the economy and achieving peace and stability. Posted by: Fred 2009-05-04 |
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