4% pay rise to civil servants insignificant, says financial analyst
By Staff Reporter
FINANCIAL analyst Blessings Kafwanka says the 4% salary increase to civil servants is insignificant as it will not positively impact their lives.
The Civil Servants and Allied Workers Union confirmed signing a 4% salary hike in a new Collective Agreement with the government.
But Kafwanka criticised an offer of an increment of 4% when the rate of inflation was at 8%, saying a minimum of 10% would have been reasonable.
“An employee who had a gross pay of K6, 000 will now have a gross pay of K6, 280. Even though there’s a marginal increase of K280 in the nominal pay, the real income has reduced by 4% (8%-4%). In short, after the 4% increment, the basket of goods that a civil servant can afford has actually reduced by 4% due to inflation,” he said.
“Yes, we understand the pressure on our national resources but employees are a vital resource in any organization who deserve good compensation for their labour. The government must lead by example. They are actually sending a negative message to private sector employers.”
Kafwanka said Zambia cannot prioritize things such as purchasing private jets and reintroducing deputy ministerial positions and yet claim that the country cannot support reasonable salaries for public sector workers due to lack of funds.
“We need to get our priorities right. We must place more value on civil servants than politicians because they are in the front line of implementing government policy,” he said.
