Zimbabwe civil servants resume strike

A public servants' strike in Zimbabwe jerkily resumed Thursday after failed talks on doubling basic wages, as some teachers held classes while others left students on their own.

The strike, which has hit public schools the hardest, resumed after unions Wednesday rejected a $240-million (185-million-euro) blanket offer from government. If spread evenly among government's 230,000 employees, they would each receive an $87 a month increase, far less than their demand for basic wages to rise from $200 to $538 a month. Government workers began the five-day strike on Monday to press for a doubling of their salaries, medical insurance and an allowance for workers based in rural areas. Unions suspended the strike on Wednesday to allow the talks to proceed, but said their action would continue for the rest of the week after negotiations failed to reach a settlement. Government departments have continued to work as usual, with unions accusing bosses of intimidating their employees to keep them from the joining the strike. Zimbabwe's books are plagued with irregularities. Finance Minister Tendai Biti estimates that one-third of the people on the government's payroll do not actually exist, meaning corrupt workers are siphoning off extra salaries. (AFP)