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Farirai Machivenyika-Senior Reporter
STAFF at the Zimbabwe Broadcasting Corporation have called on Parliament to lobby their employer to pay them part of their salaries in US dollars to cushion them from the rising cost of living.
ZBC receives its licence fees and advertising revenue mostly in local currency.
Apart from that, the employees also called for the establishment of a National Employment Council for the media industry to ensure that conditions of service are aligned with their regional counterparts.
Different NECs handle the newspaper and broadcasting industries.
Appearing before the Parliamentary Portfolio Committee on Information, Media and Broadcasting Services in Harare yesterday, officials from ZBC’s workers committee also called on Government to consider them when allocating land.
“We were awarded an increment around October and November last year calculated using the interbank rate but since then a lot has happened with prices rising.
“We are therefore asking that we get part of our salaries in US dollars because most commodities are now quoted in US dollars. This is what is happening in other organisations including in Government which is leading by example,” said ZBC workers committee chairman, Mr Maushe Mutetepi.
He said the establishment of NEC for the whole media industry was critical as the current one representing the sector did not adequately cater for the peculiarities of the industry.
“We should have our own media NEC which will allow us to bargain from a position of strength,” Mr Mutetepi added.
The secretary general of the committee, Mr Godfrey Maregere, said they also wanted the company’s pension scheme revived.
“The old scheme was disbanded in 2015 so we no longer have anything to fall back on when we retire or leave the organisation,” he said.
On the land issue, Mr Maregere said ZBC played a critical role in publicising the land reform programme and its employees should also benefit.
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