Collective Bargaining Agreement Agricultural Industry Tea and Coffee Sub-sector

This registered collective bargaining agreement sets minimum wages for the tea and coffee subsector of the agricultural industry, effective 1 August 2023. It was made between the employer parties — the Zimbabwe Tea Growers Association, ZAEO, ZCFU and ZFU — and the unions GAPWUZ and HGAPWUZ, and it binds all organisations in the agricultural industry.

The new minimum wage runs from US$71 a month at grade A1, through US$75 (A2), US$81 (A3), US$91 (B1), US$96 (B2), US$103 (B3), US$109 (B4), US$121 (B5) and US$129 (C1), to US$140 at grade C2. Against the previous total of about US$67 at A1 and US$132 at C2, that is an increase of roughly 6%.

The wage is split between a hard currency component and a portion converted to local currency. At grade A1 the new split is US$31 as the US dollar component and US$40 converted, which at the interbank rate of 9 August 2023 of USD1 : ZW$4 559,7414 came to ZW$182 390. At grade C2 the split is US$61 and US$79, giving ZW$360 220. The schedule prints those ZWL equivalents as a snapshot at that August 2023 rate; the figures are rounded to the nearest dollar.

Establishments or employees may apply to the National Employment Council for exemption, partial exemption or review of these wages, giving reasons, within 14 days of the date of the agreement.

On timing, the agreement was signed at Harare on 9 August 2023 with effect from 1 August 2023, but only gazetted on 16 February 2024 — about six months later, so it applies retrospectively. The wage table's column headings are dense and the US dollar and converted components are easy to confuse; the split should be checked against the Gazette before it is used to build a payslip.