Organizations representing Zimbabwe's striking civil servants met today in the capital, Harare, to evaluate their two-week-old labor action.
Chairwoman Tendayi Chikowore of the Apex negotiating panel for public workers told VOA that there is no end to the strike in sight as the government has not been engaging unions and other public service representatives.
Chikowore told VOA Studio 7 reporter Marvellous Mhlanga Nyahuye that the Apex Council has called a mass public meeting of civil servants on Friday at Harare Gardens in central Harare to discuss the way forward.
The strike was called on Friday, February 5, during such a mass meeting of state workers whose representatives had previously set a deadline for action by the strapped national unity government on low public salaries.
Civil servants earn a maximum US$200 a month, though the Consumer Council of Zimbabwe says a family of six needs a monthly US$520 dollars to get by.
State workers want a monthly base salary of US$630, insisting the government could afford to boost wages if it would tap diamond revenues.
To examine the demands of state workers and the impact of the strike, VOA Studio 7 reporter Patience Rusere turned to Executive Director Abel Chikomo of the Zimbabwe Human Rights NGO Forum and Acting Program Officer Lorraine Mupatsiri of the Combined Harare Residents Association.
Mupatsiri says school children have been affected most by the strike, which includes most primary and secondary school teachers.