Harare City Council Workers Threaten Strike Over Unpaid December Salaries
Workers at Harare City Council (HCC) are threatening to strike before schools reopen next week over non-payment of salaries.
Employees endured a difficult festive season and have started the year without receiving their December 2025 pay, particularly those in grades 16 to seven.
On Thursday, trade unions representing the workers held a press conference in Harare to express disappointment at the council’s failure to fulfil its obligations.
The unions were represented by: George Matongera of the Municipal Workers Union of Zimbabwe; Themba Musarurwa of the Water and Allied Workers Union of Zimbabwe; Wilson Chokuda of the Zimbabwe Allied Municipalities Workers Union; and Shadreck Chikoore of the Combined Municipalities Workers Union of Zimbabwe.
The unions have written to HCC management, although the council’s top officials are reportedly out of town.
Matongera said it was regrettable that the workers had gone on holiday without receiving their salaries, describing the situation as unacceptable. He said:
“We had agreed with our employers that all arrears should have been cleared by December 31, but they failed to do so.
“We have written to the chairperson of the National Employment Council. The workers are owed salaries for November and December, as well as their bonuses.
“The employer allowed his workers to go on holiday without salaries. We had Christmas and the New Year; they have rentals to pay, and we are now approaching school opening.
“So workers are demanding that the outstanding salaries be paid before schools open.”
Musarurwa said it was disheartening that council employees went unpaid during the last two months of 2025, a period that also saw several work-related deaths. He said:
“The workers are now thinking that we, the leaders of the trade unions, are in bed with their employers, and that is not true.
“We are pushing for the workers to be paid. Another issue is that from October to December last year, we received several reports of work-related incidents at Harare City Council, with workers dying due to a lack of protective clothing.
“People are dying at workplaces without protective clothing. Employees are not happy. We are promoting theft at workplaces because the workers are not being paid.”
HCC Head of Corporate Communications, Stanley Gama, said the council is making progress in settling its employees’ salaries. Said Gama:
“In terms of the US dollar component, we are up to date, and we have since started paying bonuses this week.
“Regarding the local currency, we are pushing very hard to pay the workers, as we are owed ZiG$9 billion by various stakeholders.
“It is our priority to clear the salary backlog this year. We are almost there, and we are doing well.”
Harare Mayor Jacob Mafume said that while workers are paid monthly, there is currently a backlog in salary payments. –
_NewsDay_
