There might be method in the madness going on in Harare — reports suggest the government is considering slashing the salaries of public-sector workers by 50% in line with the price cuts that have rocked the retail industry.
Business, the government and the Reserve Bank of Zimbabwe are behind this latest move to control money supply, says the Zimbabwe Congress of Trade Unions (ZCTU). ”The ZCTU would like to make it known that it will fiercely resist this move as it is retrogressive and goes against the dictates of International Labour Organisation conventions,” it says. However, there are legal hurdles to be faced as the Labour Act does not give the labour minister ”or any other government agency any power whatsoever to slash salaries of employees who are covered by the Act”.
ZCTU notes that the measures would further impoverish workers who are already struggling to survive. Public servants earn about Z$3-million and the poverty datum line is Z$5-million.
”A country cannot be run on the whim of ill-thought political projects that are of no benefit to the ordinary citizens,” the labour federation says. ”We demand that the authorities rethink this heartless strategy as it will certainly throw the country into chaos and eventually anarchy.” But Zimbabwe Industry and Trade Minister Obert Mpofu denies the report. ”We are only concerned about price stabilisation, not incomes,” ZimOnline reports.