The Ministry of Public Service, Labour and Social Welfare has been engaging in Social Dialogue to Safeguard the interest of workers as inflation remains high against stagnant salaries, Labour Officer at Government of Zimbabwe Monica Hanga said during a meeting in Harare.
The Labour Officer said the Public Service Ministry coordinated social dialogue processes that have culminated in the development of protocols that have been put in place as part of a social contract.
“We realise that the key sectors driving the economy are agriculture, mining, manufacturing and we need obviously to enhance productivity in these sectors,” Hanga said. “So whether you are a worker or an employer or indeed a policy worker your sustainable prosperity depends on increased productivity.”
“As a Ministry, we are the chair of the tripartite negotiating forum and this brings together the key socio-economic ministries, and the Ministry of Finance is the government leader, on the government side and then we have the representatives of the employers and the representatives of workers.”
The Labour Officer also acknowledged that Zimbabwe’s economic challenges have a negative impact on the country’s labour market.
“When we look at the labour market it has links obviously within the broader socio-economic context and for some years our economy has been underperforming,” Hanga said.
“This has impacted on the labour market in terms of low productivity. Productivity obviously means doing more with less.”
“The high cost of productivity, liquidity challenges, foreign currency shortages are some of the issues that the country has been faced with,” Hanga continued.
The Labour Ministry is involved in a social dialogue against after a series of industrial actions as government workers demand more wages.
Zimbabwe’s year on year inflation rose 20,85 per cent after the government’s introduction of 2 cents per dollar tax.
