(Bloomberg) -- Zimbabwean government employees threatened to begin a strike on Friday over the state's refusal to increase their wages, the head of the main public-service labor union said.
Prices in Zimbabwe are rising at the fastest pace since a hyperinflationary spiral in 2008, when the rate hit 500 billion percent, amid a scarcity of foreign currency that's caused a shortage of food and fuel. Doctors and teachers have staged strikes in recent weeks to demand higher pay.
Read a related article about Zimbabwe's economic crisis
The government has failed to meet state employees' requests for higher salaries, David Dzatsunga, secretary-general of the Apex Council, told reporters Wednesday in the capital, Harare. The union has served notice of plans to begin a strike in the next 48 hours, he said.
“The offer from government falls short by $1,219 for the lowest-paid worker,” Dzatsunga said. “On the expiry of the notice period, the Apex Council will not be held liable for what happens thereafter.”
Workers are demanding a salary of $1,733 a month for the lower-paid employees, up from $414, inclusive of allowances, the state-controlled Herald newspaper reported Jan. 11.
To contact the reporter on this story: Godfrey Marawanyika in Harare at gmarawanyika@bloomberg.net
To contact the editors responsible for this story: Antony Sguazzin at asguazzin@bloomberg.net, Paul Richardson, Liezel Hill
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