Government declares new minimum wage

President Robert Mugabe's Cabinet has legislated minimum wages for Zimbabwean industry without reaching agreement with labour and business, the 'Financial Gazette' reported on Thursday. The minimum wages, which were still under discussion in the Tripartite negotiating Forum (TNF), were gazetted together with new price controls at the end of last week and were effective from 1 October.

"TNF was in the middle of negotiations on price monitoring and minimum wages," the Business Leaders' Forum (BLF) told journalists this week. "Submissions from BLF were due on Monday 15 October but regretfully government moved ahead and legislated price controls and minimum wages." Industry officials said the cost-of-living pay increase of between 20 and 30 percent would, in conjunction with the new minimum wages, boost low-level monthly incomes for industry and commerce to around 11,600 Zim dollars (US $216).

This represents wage increases of over 100 percent in some sectors, which some companies, already reeling from runaway production and input costs and expected to fare badly under new price controls, might not be able to afford. "It's likely that some members are in a position to pay (the minimum wages) but others are in a worse state," said Bankers' Association of Zimbabwe vice chairman Nigel Chanakira. Business executives said many firms were likely to apply for exemptions from the new regulations, while others could be forced to cut back on staffing levels to remain viable.