There is heavy police presence in Zimbabwe’s capital city ahead of protests by government workers and citizens over poor wages, deteriorating economic conditions and human rights violations.
Crisis in Zimbabwe Coalition says it was summoned by police after announcing mass protests this week while government workers say their strike will go ahead this week if government does not yield to their demands of a better living wage.
Workers are demanding a minimum pay of US$840 per month. Currently the lowest paid employee earns about US$175 per month.
The government workers pulled out from negotiations with government accusing it of negotiating in bad faith.
Health workers recently rejected a 100% wage hike, citing high inflation. They also want to be paid in United States dollars. The government says it does not have resources to pay workers in foreign currency.