The Sunday Mail
Japhet Moyo
Since dollarisation, employers have always argued that companies’ wage bills are too high and stifling growth and investment in the country.
It appears they then took it upon themselves and decided that the only way to see industry grow was to do away with workers through retrenchment and or reducing workers’ wages.
It should be noted, however, that this is not the true reflection of the situation.
Employers are rushing to address a symptom and not the cause of the problem as well as the problem itself.
The Confederation of Zimbabwe Industries 2014 Manufacturing Survey identifies the following as major constraints to capacity utilisation:
In 2012, the World Bank noted that Zimbabwe’s unit labour cost was lower in comparison to South Africa, Botswana and Zambia.
Given how the World Bank is pro-labour flexibility and anti-decent work, it surprisingly doesn’t pin-point wages as one of the most problematic factors of doing business in Zimbabwe.
Instead, it notes the following:
The report puts poor work ethic at as low a figure as 0,7 percent and an inadequately educated workforce at 0,1 percent.
Given the above, labour has come to the conclusion that employers are afraid of addressing the real issues affecting industry and have opted for the easy way out – attacking the ordinary worker.
Real issues on the ground include:
i. Government policy inconsistencies;
ii. The Indigenisation Policy which is blocking capital and finance out of the country;
iii. Issues of democracy and rule of law;
iv. Issues of infrastructure development; and
v. Corruption.
It is when these are addressed that industry will grow and flourish. It is also important to look at what is happening within companies.
It is not the wage bill that is killing industry, but employment costs as a whole, with specific interest on the earnings of top management and chief executives.
They are earning 20 to 80 times more than the ordinary worker.
The “salarygate” scandal exposed this, but nothing has been done to resolve the issue.
In the 2015 Mid-Term Fiscal Policy Review, Finance and Economic Development Minister Patrick Chinamasa alluded to the continued lavish remuneration of senior management at Premier Service Medical Aid Society and Premier Service Medical Investments.
In the meantime, the National Railways of Zimbabwe and other companies have gone for months without paying workers.
Nevertheless, they are still in the doldrums.
This means their problems will not be solved even if they were to employ for free.
The issue is not wages.
◆ Mr Japhet Moyo is the Secretary General of the Zimbabwe Congress of Trade Unions.
