Zesa Workers Demand 75% Salary Hike, As Least Paid Worker, Gets $940/month
Workers at struggling energy producer, Zesa, are demanding a 75 percent salary hike, which is approved will almost double the power utility’s wage bill. Zesa currently generates between $53 million and $59 million in revenue per month while the wage bill currently stands at $22 million per month. At the moment, the lowest paid worker at Zesa, a sweeper, earns $940 per month.
The workers are also demanding various perks and allowances which include
- A five-day holiday for six family members at any three-star hotel.
- Full school fees payment for up to four of the employees’ children
- “Climate” Allowance
- Cellphone allowances
- Non-pensionable allowance (by 20 percent)
- Housing (15 percent)
- Retention allowance (10 percent)
- Responsibility allowance (15 percent)
- Transport allowance (from $70 to $160)
- Canteen allowance (from $25 to $120).
The workers are being represented by the Zimbabwe Energy Workers Union (ZEWU) and National Energy Workers Union of Zimbabwe (NEWZ). Part of the position paper reads:
The rise in the cost of living has continued unabated and has reached alarming levels in recent weeks. One of the critical factors, which has led to the erosion of workers’ salaries is the shortage of cash, be it bond notes or US dollars. To make matters worse, for one to access cash, one has to sleep at a bank and get less than $50 or get it on the black market where charges have escalated to more than 80 percent, especially for US dollars.
More: Herald
