Zimbabwe Awards Civil Servants 20% Pay Rise Amid Crippling Teachers' Class BoycottThe Zimbabwean government, which is facing a crippling teachers’ class boycott, says it will increase all civil servants’ salaries by 20%, pay each employee an additional US$100 per month and build houses for workers. In a statement, the Ministry of Finance said President Emmerson Mnangagwa issued this directive following a meeting with representatives of civil servants. The statement read in part, “A 20 percent increase in the Zimbabwe Dollar salary component backdated to 1 January 2022 will be implemented across the board; US$100 per month in hard currency will be paid to every civil servant with effect from the 1st of March 2022. This will be done through the conversion of a corresponding Zimbabwe dollar salary amount into hard currency, bringing the foreign currency amount to US$175.” The Ministry of Finance said the government will introduce an advancement award “recognizing seniority for differentiation within the same grade to be implemented across the entire civil service sectorally.” In terms of non-monetary benefits, the government said the state will pay school fees for up to three biological children per teaching family “with an upper limit of ZWL$20,000 per child per term, paid directly to the school.” The government has promised to construct 34,000 housing units over a five-year period as institutional accommodation, including critical amenities for teachers within the school premises. Zimbabwe has also initiated a housing loan guarantee scheme to facilitate home ownership for civil servants. It has also promised to provide transport for ferrying teachers in rural and urban areas. Apart from that, according to the Ministry of Finance, teachers would be allowed to import vehicles “duty-free but not to dispose of them before the expiry of three years.”