Low minimum wage rise squeezes the poor

Mozambican workers say the recent 14 percent increase in the statutory minimum wage is wholly inadequate to cope with rises in the cost of living. While trade unionists pushed for a 16.6 percent rise in the minimum wage, employers were not prepared to go beyond 10.5 percent. The 14 percent increase - the same amount workers received last year - meant the minimum wage across all sectors rose from 1,120,297 to 1,277,139 meticais a month (about US$ 46.7 to $53.3). Francisco Mazoio, a spokesman for the Organizacao dos Trabalhadres de Mocambique, the country's largest trade union, said the minimum wage did not even meet half the typical family's basic needs. "We know we have to be realistic, and that there is a difference between what we want and what is possible in a poor country like Mozambique, but we thought a 20 percent rise was realistic, especially with the increase in the cost of living," Mazoio commented. Although Mozambique has seen rapid economic growth since the end of the civil war in 1992, ordinary workers complain they have yet to reap the benefits of sustained political stability. A recent spike in fuel prices has made it even more costly for people to travel to work: public transport into the capital city, Maputo, has increased from 5,000 to 7,000 meticais. Baptista Chambo, 40, a father of six who has worked at an upmarket restaurant in Maputo for the past nine years, said the 14 percent increase in the minimum wage was unlikely to make much difference to his daily life. His salary fell far short of his family's basic needs, he told IRIN, and even though his wife tried to supplement the household income by selling vegetables at the market, her contribution was often negligible. This year was especially difficult because one of the children was diagnosed with chronic diarrhoea. Medical costs were around US $100, roughly the equivalent of two months' income. "I had to ask relatives and friends to help me pay the bill," Chambo said. The high cost of living and additional expenses meant the family has had to reduce their daily meals and they can rarely afford meat. "It is just getting more difficult for me as time passes," said Chambo. Although disappointed with the increase, trade unionists said they would not embark on strike action, but continue negotiating with employers. Mazoio said unions would encourage businesses to pay their workers above the minimum wage and improve working conditions, but admitted that the negotiating power of unions in Mozambique was weak. He noted that more needed to be done to unionise workers. "We also need to give more information to the unions and build up their capacity, and train the unions to develop better negotiating skills."