Call on employers to cushion workers

Natasha Chamba, Business Reporter
EMPLOYERS have been advised to adjust upwards the salaries for workers or pay them in foreign currency in order to cushion their staff from prevailing economic challenges, a labour consultant has said.

Speaking at a 2019 Labour Update workshop in Bulawayo last week Stratways Management Consultancy director, Mr Davies Sibanda, said the economic challenges have created a wage and salary dilemma for many organisations as RTGS balances were fast losing value while at the same time businesses were battling with ever rising costs.

“The country is currently going through a hard patch, which needs to be addressed quickly. The cost of living is affecting everyone from managerial level to the lowest ranking employee in an organisation,” he said.

“In 2019 wages should be negotiated from two important fronts either to pay employees in US dollars or bond wages to increase four to five fold to meet inflation. If this is farfetched, part payment can be in US dollars.”

Mr Sibanda said the recent 2019 Monetary Policy Statement by Reserve Bank of Zimbabwe Governor Dr John Mangudya, acknowledges the dilemma for workers and businesses after the central bank dumped the 1:1 exchange rate for USD against RTGS balances.

He said as a way of cushioning workers, employers should also consider giving out transport allowances that match transport costs or giving out housing allowances that match real costs of rentals, which are fast moving towards USD levels.

The country’s year-on-year inflation in December 2018 rose by 11,08 percentage points to 42,09 percent as price escalation continued driven by speculation, parallel market rates and persistent foreign currency shortages.

Last October, Zimbabwe’s rate of inflation reached its record high since February 2009 when the country adopted a multicurrency system to reach 20,85 percent.

Mr Sibanda said employees’ wages have not risen to meet parallel market pricing of goods and services and hence going to work was fast becoming a frustrating exercise.

He said a labour survey conducted by his organisation in January this year showed there were no wage increases in many sectors with an exception of a few commercial sectors that have given interim increases to cushion workers.

— @queentauruszw.