Minister Goche averts beer strike

A wild cat strike by workers in the beverages sector was Wednesday averted after the swift intervention of Labour and Social Services Minister, Nicholas Goche.

The industrial action by the sector's 13,000 employees would have hit blue-chip Delta Beverages and negatively impacted on taxes at a time the government needs every cent it can get.

Workers from the Brewing and Distilling Workers Union of Zimbabwe, represented by their umbrella body the United Food and Allied Workers Union of Zimbabwe (UFAWUZ), last month gave notice to go on strike after negotiations for a salary review stalled.

The workers were demanding a minimum wage of around $570, some $50 above the country's poverty datum line. However the industry, represented by the Brewing and Distilling Employers Association, declared they had no capacity for such an increment, citing low business.

Led by Delta Beverages, the employers a week ago made representations to Goche and pleaded with him to intervene and help stop the potentially damaging industrial action.

Early Wednesday, Goche called a crisis meeting between the warring parties and hammered out an agreement that stopped the strike, hours before it was due to begin.