Collective Bargaining Agreement Agricultural Industry Timber Sub-sector

The Minister of Public Service, Labour and Social Welfare has published the Collective Bargaining Agreement for the timber subsector of the agricultural industry, registered under section 79 and approved under section 80(1) of the Labour Act [Chapter 28:01]. It binds all organisations in the agricultural industry.

The agreement is between the employer parties — the Timber Producers Association, ZAEO, ZCFU, ZFU and CFU — and the employee parties, GAPWUZ and HGAPWUZ, through the National Employment Council for the Agricultural Industry. The new minimum wages take effect from 1 July 2023.

Wages are split into two components: one paid in actual United States dollars and one fixed in US dollars but paid in Zimbabwe dollars, converted at the interbank rate prevailing on the 20th day of the month for which the wage is due. For the lowest grade A1 the agreement describes a US$80 cash component and a US$35 component paid in local currency.

The new monthly minimums from 1 July 2023, in US dollar terms, are: A1 US$115, A2 US$124, A3 US$133, B1 US$145, B2 US$157, B3 US$168, B4 US$182, B5 US$198, C1 US$214 and C2 US$228 — up from US$65 to US$129 across the same grades under the scale effective 1 January 2023, close to a doubling. The schedule also shows the ZWD equivalents at the 20 July 2023 interbank rate of US$1 to ZWL4 752,27140, from ZWL166 329 at A1 to ZWL327 907 at C2, with figures rounded to the nearest dollar.

Establishments or employees may apply to the National Employment Council for exemption, partial exemption or review of the wage schedule, stating their reasons, within 14 days of the date of the agreement.

The agreement was signed at Harare on 21 July 2023 and gazetted on 16 February 2024. The conversion mechanism relies on the pre-ZiG interbank rate, so the local currency figures are historic; the US dollar wage floors are the operative part.