Zimbabweans earning far less than survival wage, say Lawmakers

A majority of Zimbabweans are now living below the poverty datum line and earning far less than what is required for basic survival, Members of Parliament have said, raising alarm over worsening poverty levels.

Legislators expressed concern over the growing disconnect between wages and the cost of living during Wednesday’s parliamentary question-and-answer session, where they pressed the government to explain the measures authorities were taking to address the widening gap between incomes and basic needs.

Norton MP Richard Tsvangirai questioned the sustainability of current wages, noting that most civil servants earn below US$300 against a poverty datum line pegged at around US$900.

“The poverty datum line in Zimbabwe is US$900, but most of the people, especially the nurses, teachers and civil servants are paid less than US$300. What measures has the government taken to make sure they close the gap between the poverty datum line and the current wages?” he asked.

Chiredzi Central MP, Blessing Makumire, echoed the concerns, highlighting recent industrial action by nurses who say their earnings are no longer sufficient to meet basic needs.

“We saw nurses in government institutions going on strike or demonstrating that they are no longer able to buy themselves undergarments or go to work. What measures have been put in place to ensure that those striking workers who were demonstrating about the low wages can go back to the institutions and carry out their work?” he said.

Responding on behalf of the government, acting Leader of Government Business, Dr Anxious Masuka, said authorities are working to address the concerns through a review of civil service salaries.

Dr Masuka indicated the Ministry of Public Service, Labour and Social Welfare had been tasked with assessing whether civil servants are properly graded and determining appropriate cost-of-living adjustments.

“It is the government’s wish that its workers receive decent wages that can look after their families or high-end salaries. We know that they appeared before this august House and said two things were being done,” said the minister of agriculture.

“An investigation was being conducted into whether civil servants are properly graded. They also looked at how much more would be given as a cost-of-living adjustment. These are the two things that the Minister was waiting for. This has now been done. So soon we will hear from the Minister of Public Service, Labour and Social Welfare what the government workers are now getting.”