Collective Bargaining Agreement Agricultural Industry, Agro Sector

The Minister of Public Service, Labour and Social Welfare has approved publication of the registered collective bargaining agreement for the Agro subsector of the agricultural industry. It was signed at Harare on 27 July 2023 and its wages take effect from 1 July 2023, so publication in May 2024 is well after the fact.

The split-currency structure is the heart of it. Each grade's minimum is fixed in US dollars, of which 40 per cent is payable in US dollars and 60 per cent is payable in Zimbabwe dollars. The local-currency portion is converted at the interbank rate prevailing on the 20th of the month for which the wage is due — not at the payment date, and not at a company rate.

The monthly minimums in US dollar terms run: A1 US$118, A2 US$126, A3 US$137, B1 US$148, B2 US$157, B3 US$172, B4 US$184, B5 US$201, C1 US$216 and C2 US$234. The corresponding US dollar cash components — the 40 per cent — are US$47 at A1 rising to US$94 at C2. The agreement notes figures are rounded to the nearest dollar.

The agreement binds all organisations within the agricultural industry, not only the signatory employers. The signatories are ZAEO, ZCFU, ZFU, CFU and agro employer representatives on the employer side, and GAPWUZ and HGAPWUZ on the employee side.

There is an exemption route. Establishments or employees may apply to the National Employment Council for exemption, partial exemption or review of these wages, stating their reasons, within 14 days of the date of the agreement — a window that has long since closed on the face of the document.

One caution on the figures. The conversion table is confusingly set out: the text gives the 20 July 2023 interbank rate as 4 752,2714 to the US dollar while a column heading gives a 20 June 2023 rate of 6 790,3248, and the sentence reads "which stood at USD4 752,2714" where it means Zimbabwe dollars per US dollar. The US dollar columns are consistent and reliable; treat the Zimbabwe dollar equivalents as historical illustration and recompute at the rate for the month in question.