HARARE: Civil servants should not panic over the reintroduction of pension contributions as the move is meant to safeguard pension payouts on retirement, the acting Minister of Public Service, Labour and Social Welfare Dr Lazarus Dokora has said.
Government says the move to reintroduce the civil servants pension contributions should not upset government employees as the development is critical in ensuring that retirees get adequate social protection and that the move has been on the table for some time.
“The former scenario where government was meeting the full pension benefits was unsustainable, hence the move to resuscitate pension contributions by government employees,” said Dr Dokora.
Civil servants have not been paying pension since 2009.
On the outstanding salaries for other civil servants outside the education sector, Dr Dokora assured the government employees that government as the employer will honour its obligations.
Meanwhile, the Public Service Association president Mrs Cecilia Alexander says in future government should engage the civil servants representative bodies to avoid suspicions and disgruntlement on key matters such as civil servants welfare.
Civil servants in the education sector received their eagerly anticipated December salaries on Tuesday with the rest of the civil servants expected to be paid on the 5th of January, according to government.
