2011: Bad year for employees

Strikes rocked both Government and the private sector, with questioned being asked why the wave of industrial action intensified in 2011 compared to previous years. Labour analysts say it cannot be disputed that strikes were fuelled by an adversarial style of negotiating between workers or unions and employers.
This, in the end produced a tense atmosphere in industry and many employment councils had their disputes ending in arbitration. The other challenge to negotiations with employers was the rate of economic growth, as it was not the one that was anticipated when the inclusive Government came in.
Employers and workers had great expectations as they saw an opportunity for growth of business and opportunity for huge credit lines, which instead remained modest. These challenges and many others dodged collective bargaining in 2011, as they formed barriers for smooth negotiations and offered a recipe for complications.
Employers have argued that the operating model of most companies reflected excesses of the Zimbabwe dollar era that exhibited low productivity, high operating costs and inefficient manpower structures.
They point out that unlike the Zimdollar era where real wages were close to nothing, the multicurrency environment has brought about real costs from the wages perspective, and most companies now realise that they have excess labour whose productivity is very low. Zimbabwe’s labour laws have been described by employers as being archaic and tending to over protect employees at the expense of the solvency of companies that employ them.
However, collective bargaining requires objectivity as opposed to subjectivity, and also always requires the voice of reason and fair play. The bargaining process is at most negative and involves a struggle of give and take on most issues. Collective bargaining in Zimbabwe has faced many challenges because Zimbabwe has undergone a unique phase in the history of labour due to hyper-inflation. It has given both employers and workers headaches, as the country reeled from a hangover of economic instability. Chief executive officers stand accused of taking home huge salaries and other perks at the expense of the ordinary worker.
It is no secret that the salary margins are widening, and this has in the end produced a tense atmosphere in the industry, with workers’ unions crying foul.
According to a survey carried out by the Labour, Economic Development Research Institute of Zimbabwe, the disparities ranged from US$154 paid to the lowest paid worker up to US$18 000 paid to some CEOs.
While concurring that CEOs are hard hit by taxes, workers’ unions argue that executives have other rewards that more than make up for whatever the taxman gobbles. Vehicles and fuel allowances and fully subsidised education for a limited number of children are some of the perks enjoyed by the high earners, although these benefits are also taxed.
Most of the CEOs drive state of the art Mercedes Benz cars or upmarket SUVs and most send their children, with employer’s help, to trust or top mission schools in the country. The LEDRIZ research revealed that CEOs are allocated fuel allowance of between 250 and 350 litres per month, and cellphone allowances of between US$250 and US$935.
On school fees, some companies pay between US$1 500 and US$2 500 per child per term for two or three children. Some companies pay 100 percent school fees for executives including university fees both locally and abroad. Housing allowances range between US$300 and US$2 500 per month depending on level.
Entertainment allowance is offered as per the executive’s request, with some companies offering a flat fee of between US$100 and US$120 per month. Lunch allowance is on average US$41, while other allowances amount to an average of more than US$1 500. This has riled the workers’ unions, who lament that salaries and wages are below Poverty Datum Line.
Figures released last month by the Consumer Council of Zimbabwe placed the low-income earner’s monthly basket for a family of six at US$540,80.
In September, preparations for a Bill to legislate the Tripartite Negotiating Forum dominated debate during a special sitting of the technical committee set up by the Ministry of Labour and Social Welfare. The decision to legislate the TNF was arrived at after considering social dialogue institutions in other countries. A reference was made to the National Economic Development and Labour Council of South Africa, which was considered to be one of the good models of social dialogue.
In 1989, Zimbabwe ratified the Tripartite Consultation (International Labour Standards) Convention, 1976 (No. 144), culminating in the establishment of the TNF in 1998. Th TNF is Zimbabwe’s social dialogue platform that brings together Government, business and labour to negotiate over key socio-economic matters, and its existence has been as a voluntary and unlegislated chamber.
Occupational Safety remained a major cause for concern throughout the year, due to protracted work related casualties. Figures released by the National Social Security Authority up to the end of August revealed that there had been 47 fatalities and 2 395 injuries, with most of these being in the basic metal processing and fabrication sector. This was followed by the transport and storage sector, mining, and lastly the wood and products sector.
Today, failure to prevent injuries to employees is indefensible because of the amount of specialised knowledge, systems and technology at our disposal in this field. The practical and moral aspect of accident prevention is inter-related, because accidents result in the waste of manpower and resources, and physical and mental anguish. The other highlight of the year was the challenge of establishing an effective Labour Market Information System in Southern Africa.
This would usher in a regional mechanism for research, collection analysis and dissemination of data on employment and decent work. This will enhance effective planning, monitoring and evaluation of programmes. The subject of LMIS is not well understood and seems rather obscure when compared to other issues concerning labour. Labour markets in Southern Africa have changed profoundly mainly due to the forces of trade liberalisation, privatisation and globalisation of economies in the region. The advances in technology, new systems of production and organisation of work, and lately brain drain have also magnified this. The year 2012 is set to be of more challenges to labour issues, and it needs the concerted efforts of all the social dialogue partners to help in addressing them.