Harare, workers wage talks deadlocked

Harare City Council workers have declared a deadlock with their employer over a cost of living adjustment in the wake of recent spates of price hikes.

Minutes of the joint finance and human resources committees approved last week reveal that talks by the two sides reached a deadlock, with the matter now before an arbitrator.

Council had offered workers a 5% increment on top of the 2,5% arbitral award they won for a pay rise beginning January 2019.

"The 2018 collective bargaining agreement and the 2019 hardship allowances were both before the arbitrator, following deadlocks on both sides. The acting human capital director (Mathew Marara) also highlighted that council had a backlog of the collective bargaining agreement negotiation increment of 2,5% for the year 2017, which would be effected from March 2019 and backdated to January 1, 2019," the minutes read.

Council owes its workers salaries backdated to February 2019 and this has been attributed to declining revenue collection.

"This has been necessitated by the recent rise in the general cost of living in the country. Council, however, was also incapacitated because of budgetary constraints," read the minutes.

After a lengthy debate, council tasked its representative to the works council to engage the workers for the 5% offer, while new revenue streams were being exploited.

The bid for a salary hike comes as service delivery has dwindled and revenue collection is at its lowest ebb due to the negative economic phase the country is passing through.