GOVERNMENT yesterday confirmed that it is working with
social partners including business and labour on a new salary structure for
workers following the erosion of wages and salaries by inflation.
Government has repeatedly said it is alive to the fact that
workers’ wages and salaries including that of civil servants which were last
reviewed early this year, have been eroded by inflation.
The wages and salaries are as a result lagging far behind
the prices of even basic commodities hence workers are finding it difficult to
fend for their families.
The process of aligning wages and prices has been affected
by currency instability and the three-tier pricing system used by some
businesses.
Public Service, Labour and Social Welfare Minister
Professor Paul Mavima said in an interview on Thursday that there are on-going
salary and wages negotiations in a bid to come up with a more stable salary
structure to cushion workers against rising inflation.
“We would really want to see a macro-economic stability
whereby salary negotiations are done once a year or even after two years. At
the moment we have to constantly review salaries and wages to keep up with
rising inflation. If we don’t do that we will be shooting ourselves in the foot
as salaries and wages will be eroded by inflation,” he said.
Prof Mavima said Government and other members of the
Tripartite Negotiating Forum (TNF) were working together to address the issue
of wages and salaries.
“You know the National Joint Negotiating Council reached an
agreement in February this year. There was a compromise where they said
Minister go ahead and set what can be considered a minimum wage and I think we
have just gazetted a minimum wage for people in the unclassified sectors
including domestic workers. So, we have to continuously review. The Government
is really alive to the fact that there is ongoing erosion of wages and salaries
and we need to continue to review,” he said.
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