Mozambican public service workers in management positions will not be able to claim payment for overtime in 2024, and the rest cannot be paid more than one-sixth of their monthly salary [for overtime worked], the government has determined.
The measure appears in the government document that establishes the rules for implementing the 2024 Economic and Social Plan and State Budget (PESOE) and determines the reinforcement of the “control mechanisms” for the payment of overtime, which can only happen, accorded to superior authorization, “when weighty reasons justify them”.
“There is no place for the payment of overtime to employees who hold positions of management, leadership and trust,” the document, to which Lusa had access today, establishes.
“The provision of overtime is remunerated based on the hourly rate that corresponds to the employee’s salary, and must not exceed one-sixth of their monthly salary,” it adds.
The decision comes at a time when the Mozambican government is trying to halt the growth of spending on public service salaries.
Various professional classes, including teachers, doctors and health professionals, have since 2023 complained about delays and cuts in the payment of salaries and overtime since the Single Salary Table (TSU) was introduced in the public sector, the target of strong opposition and criticism from various segments of the Mozambican state apparatus.
The Mozambican Ministry of Economy and Finance acknowledged in January that it still had to pay more than 87 million meticais (€1.3 million) in overtime for 2022 in the education sector, but said it had detected “inflated” cases.
In a clarification sent to Lusa, in the face of protests from teachers demanding these payments, the ministry stated that, in the education sector, the amount of 236,244,405.95 meticais (€3.4 million) was claimed for overtime in the months of October and November, 2022.
Of this total, payments worth 158,190,652.16 meticais (€2.3 million) were for 5,404 employees and, “to date”, 71,113,995.11 meticais (€1 million) have been paid to 2,474 employees in 137 schools.
“Which is part of the universe of schools in the city and province of Maputo, cities of Quelimane and Nampula, with payment of 87,076,657.06 meticais corresponding to 2,930 employees being missing,” the same bulletin adds.
In the same document, the Ministry of Economy and Finance highlights that, with the implementation of the TSU, overtime in October and November, 2022, “was not processed, and the validation procedure was established by the General Inspectorate of Finance”.
“The assessment of information regarding overtime carried out by state employees and agents in the remaining schools resumes this month, which includes the debt relating to the 2023 financial year,” the ministry adds, also stating that, so far, the amount of 337,421,590.71 meticais, payable to 3,235 employees in 149 school, “has been validated”.
Lusa
