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Parliament rejects govt pay offer

As the public sector salary hike demand craze spreads like wildfire, employees of Parliament Secretariat have rejected government’s proposed increment of their salaries ranging from five percent to 23 percent that would have put them at par with the mainstream civil service.

The staff have since asked the Department of Human Resource Management and Development (DHRMD) and the Office of the President and Cabinet (OPC), which is overseeing the harmonisation policy process, to stop interfering in the functions of the Parliamentary Service Commission (PSC).

Said government does not have money: Goodall Gondwe
Said government does not have money: Goodall Gondwe

Acting Clerk of Parliament Roosevelt Gondwe and leadership of the National Assembly staff union addressed the employees on Tuesday to brief them on the proposals from government.

DHRMD had earlier informed the National Assembly that Parliament staff could get an increment similar to that of the civil service, but not the proposed 45 percent, which was given to the lowest paid civil servants.

However, the proposal was pending approval from Treasury.

But the staff on Tuesday categorically rejected the proposal, saying the majority of the lowest paid Parliament staff were only getting five percent, which they said would be swallowed up by taxes and the ever-increasing cost of living.

Said a Parliament staffer who opted for anonymity: “What they [government] have presented to us is just a piece of paper with no additional information justifying this proposal. We were ready to down tools when we heard how government had undermined us.”

Another employee said Parliament has not received substantial increments in six years and bypassing the PSC decision was tantamount to abolishing it.

Gondwe confirmed in an interview that his staff have refused to accept the proposals.

On the way forward, he said management would engage the union in further discussions before reporting back to PSC, which had proposed 24 percent.

PSC is expected to meet next week to discuss a report following the staff union’s decision.

According to the proposed increments contained in a document titled ‘Salary Revision for National Assembly’ with effect from October 1 2014, the Clerk of Parliament who is the equivalent of principal secretary, was expected to get a 19 percent increment to be at par with his mainstream civil service counterpart.

Roosevelt Gondwe: The workers have said they will not accept
Roosevelt Gondwe: The workers have said they will not accept

The deputy Clerk of Parliament would have received the highest increment of 23 percent, from K608 623 to K750 000 at the lowest level and by 33 percent at the highest level.

But it is Grades P4 to SCIV that are the most disgruntled as the proposal indicates a nine to  five percent increase if they are to be at par with the mainstream civil servants on Grades E to Q.

Another document we have seen titled ‘National Assembly: Comparison with Civil Service Current Salaries’ indicates that the decision was made because there was a 28 percent difference between a National Assembly staff at Grade P5 and a civil service equivalent at Grade F.

A similar trend was noted for Grades P7 to SCIII of the National Assembly against Grade G to P of the mainstream civil service with differences ranging from 20 percent to 48 percent.

However, Treasury is unlikely to budge on its harmonisation policy fearing it would be derailed if government gives in to demands from National Assembly, Anti-Corruption Bureau and Judiciary.

These institutions, which are termed constitutional bodies, have for many years had an edge over their counterparts in the civil service such that a driver at Judiciary could get a similar salary as a graduate in the mainstream civil service.

Minister of Finance Goodall Gondwe told The Nation on Monday that he had put his foot down on the demands by the Judiciary and others, arguing that it would put pressure on the country’s budget and derail the harmonisation drive.

Meanwhile, Judiciary staff remain on strike for the fourth week after rejecting a similar proposal as talks between OPC and Judicial Service Commission have not been conclusive. The Anti-Corruption Bureau employees have also issued a seven-day ultimatum that if government does not meet their demands, they would go on strike on December 8.

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