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Negotiations deadlocked this week following a government offer of pay increases from US$7 to U$21 a month, for a top salary of US$236 a month and entry-level compensation of US$150

Zimbabwe’s restive civil servants have given the three top figures in the unity government in Harare 14 days to increase public employee salaries or risk the enforcement of pay demands through labor actions. Economists warned that a strike could shake the cash-strapped government to its roots. President Robert Mugabe, Prime Minister Morgan Tsvangirai and Deputy Prime Minister Arthur Mutambara are on leave until February.

Negotiations deadlocked this week after the public service commission offered increases ranging from US$7 to U$21 a month. The highest-paid civil servant would earn US$236 a month, entry-level workers just US$150. State employees have demanded a total entry-level wage of US$630 a month – US$460 plus housing and transportation allowances.

The Public Service Association, the Zimbabwe Teachers Association and the Progressive Teachers Union of Zimbabwe in a news conference Wednesday called the state offer “ridiculous and out of sync with the cost of living.”