The Harare City Council (HCC) has approved a 25% salary increase, resulting in the lowest-paid employee receiving a total of US$536.
However, George Mujajati, chairperson of the council’s Human Resources Committee, told NewZimbabwe.com that this increment will be paid in local currency.
According to a Collective Bargaining Agreement (CBA) signed between employer and employee representatives, the least-paid employees in Grade 16 will have a basic salary of US$143. This includes various allowances: a water allowance of US$24, a rates allowance of US$32.45, an electricity allowance of US$54.54, a housing allowance of US$15.77, and a transport allowance of US$25, totalling US$532.72, alongside a sustenance allowance.
Employees in mid-level grades 12 and 13 will earn approximately US$638, while the highest-paid workers will receive around US$800. Said Mujajati:
The CBA is pegged in US$ but it will be paid in the local ZWG currency. We are not in any position to pay foreign currency because our revenue inflows are largely in the ZWG currency. Any adjustment to the position will be dependent on changed circumstances.
This development comes at a time when the local currency continues to depreciate on the parallel market, which many businesses rely on in pricing their products and services.
The formal exchange rate, set by authorities, remains “fixed” and does not reflect actual market forces.
At its launch in April, the ZiG was trading at 1:13.50 against the US dollar. It has since depreciated significantly, now trading between 1:25 and 1:30 on the black market.
As a result of this depreciation, some service providers have begun pricing their goods exclusively in US dollars.
Retail chains have largely abandoned the official exchange rate, choosing instead to set prices based on the street rate, often increasing their prices in USD as well.
More: Pindula News