Senate Pressures Government to Align Civil Servants’ Salaries With Regional Standards

Zimbabwe’s Senate urges government to raise civil servants’ salaries to regional standards, warning of a looming collapse in public services without urgent action (image source)

Zimbabwe’s Senate is ramping up pressure on the government to urgently review civil servants’ salaries, warning that the public sector risks imminent collapse unless wages are raised to match regional benchmarks and restored to pre-crisis levels. Public-sector unions have long pushed for salaries to return to their 2018 value, when the lowest-paid government worker earned the equivalent of US$400. Since then, sustained economic shocks, currency volatility and shifting policy signals have steadily eroded earnings, driving skilled professionals to South Africa, the UK and other destinations in search of stable incomes.

Senator Sithabisiwe Moyo last week tabled a motion calling for an “immediate and comprehensive” intervention, arguing that the deterioration in public-sector wages has reached crisis proportions. “The situation on the ground is not fair. Our civil servants are suffering,” she told the Upper House. “Our teachers, nurses, clerks and other civil servants are living in poverty while struggling to do their jobs. The average Zimbabwean teacher earns about 350 per month, which is not enough to pay rent or buy food.”

Moyo urged the government to adopt a wage-restoration programme starting with a 50% emergency salary increase, which she said would provide temporary relief while longer-term reforms are developed. “The civil service is collapsing, Hon. President. We must give civil servants a salary increment now,” she said. “Approve an emergency salary increase so that teachers, nurses and other civil servants earn enough to survive. A 50% increase would do. We must restore their salaries to the US-dollar era value of 2019, and this should be a top priority.”

Zimbabwe’s clinics, schools and administrative offices have been severely strained by staff shortages, low morale and continued emigration. Rural communities, heavily dependent on state services, have suffered the most as government institutions struggle to function with limited personnel. Moyo warned against politicising the salary crisis, stressing that the issue cuts across party lines and is fundamental to national stability. “The whole country is watching our civil servants. We are not asking for charity or politics—only the dignity of a living salary and support in order for them to do their work,” she said.

She further noted that deteriorating working conditions are undermining the country’s long-term prospects. “Teachers want to teach, nurses want to do their work… but how can they if they are hungry?” she asked. “We must not allow our public service to collapse. Children are travelling long distances to school because of the shortage of schools nearby. We owe the future generation.”

With pressure mounting, the government is expected to unveil a revised remuneration framework, though whether it will meet union demands remains uncertain. For civil servants, however, the call is clear: restore dignity, restore value and rebuild the public service before it is too late.