Public Service Commission (PSC) Secretary Ambassador
Jonathan Wutawunashe said the meeting of the National Joint Negotiating Council
(NJNC) is expected to finalise concerns of civil servants.
“The meeting has ended without an agreement as yet, but we
requested that they should reconnect soon, and we expect talks to resume later
this week.
“As is normal, the negotiating parties might need to
consult with members and I think that is the reason they have asked to convene
it on a later date before finalising on the proposal put on the table by both
parties,” said Ambassador Wutawunashe.
The meeting comes as some civil servants, especially in the
education sector, have embarked on industrial action. Some are holding out for
US dollar salaries or local currency converted at the prevailing market rate.
Government has made it clear there would be no return to US
dollar salaries and that all expenditure must be tied to revenue, with no
borrowing for recurrent expenditure.
However, rising tax revenues have already allowed
Government to make unilateral wage increases and pay Covid-19 allowances. In
February workers sought a minimum salary of US$238 for the lowest paid.
However, Ambassador Wutawunashe said the ongoing
negotiations will not be tied to what was discussed in earlier meetings, but
will focus on the prevailing economic situation.
“We hope they will reconnect this week so that we come up
with a definitive position to the public. Both parties put their proposals on
the table, but we can only make public what has been agreed.
“Negotiations are not based on what was discussed before,
but we will be taking into consideration the prevailing market conditions,”
said Ambassador Wutawunashe.
He noted that the good thing was that the exchange rate has
stabilised and in some cases prices are beginning to fall. Last month there was
Tripartite Negotiating Forum meeting which was anchored on encouraging
employees to be realistic in their demands.
In that meeting business lobby groups advised Government to
avoid the risk of scaring away investment from the country by pegging salaries
at a level that can potentially make labour costs unsustainable.
After the meeting Public Service, Labour and Social Welfare
Minister Professor Paul Mavima, who is also the TNF chairperson, said
submissions from business emanates from the success recorded on the
macro-economic front which cannot be torpedoed at this stage.
“We discussed the issue of the erosion of salaries and
issues of stabilisation of the economy (and) of the currency, that is what took
centre stage.
“Business is also saying if we peg the minimum wage at a
high level it could affect the viability of businesses and lead to further
retrenchment of people and upset their viability as business,” said Minister
Mavima.
“We are urging that workers remain moderate in the demands
so that we do not upset them. “But workers are saying in February we indicated that
we could take US$238 not necessarily paid in USD, but if paid in local currency
they do not mind, but they want it equivalent to US$238.”
Zimbabwe National Chamber of Commerce president Dr Tinashe
Manzungu explained why pegging high salaries will increase the cost of
production for local goods.
“Across the globe, governments give guidance on the
salaries structure and businesses use the figures pegged by the Government as a
yardstick.
“But what we are saying is that we cannot afford to pay
unsustainable high salaries which will increase cost of production.”
“Salaries are a recurrent expenditure and must be
sustainable to keep businesses viable. If the cost of production is high, then
local businesses cannot compete on the international market.”
Most businesses are recovering from the impact of the
Covid-19 pandemic and we need to have policies that protect local industries.
“But at the same time we are not saying labour must be for
free neither are we saying we should pay slave wages.
“Salaries must cater for a decent life but, they must be
sustainable for the employer as well,” said Dr Manzungu. Herald
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