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Govt to give verdict soon on disputed minimum wage rise
2007-12-12 09:47:40
By Judica Tarimo
The government will soon pronounce its verdict on the controversial minimum-salary rise after a public service joint-staff council concludes its assignment of reviewing the proposed salary-scale.
Possibly, the decision might end a long-standing controversy over minimum wage increase that had locked the government and trade unions in prolonged and bitter exchange of words.
``The public service joint-staff council is finalising discussions of outstanding and critical issues on the proposals. Once they are through, the government will rule out on the proposed scales,`` said Minister of State in the President Office (Public Service Management), Hawa Ghasia, at a news conference in Dar es Salaam.
Earlier, the council comprising workers` representatives and government officials and other stakeholders had proposed 350,000/- as minimum wage for public servants, a proposal which was played down by the government.
The council presented the proposal to the government for joint discussions by comparing and analysing government budget and other salary increment criteria.
``After such thorough review that involved cross-checking and analysis of the government budget and other necessary components, the council decided to reduce the figure to 100,000/- from 350,000/-,`` according to the minister.
``I personally scrutinised their latest proposals…but there were several issues that the council had not resolved in the course of discussing minimum-salary scale,`` she added.
The council had planned to meet December 4, this year to finalise their discussions and come up with a jointly-agreed proposal, and forward it to the government for final decision.
``The council`s meeting did not take place as scheduled because of unavoidable circumstances… they expect to meet this Sunday,`` said Ghasia.
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