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GIST

Collective Bargaining Agreement Agricultural Industry Sugarcane

Sugarcane estates get their own job and grade schedule: cane cutters and furrow irrigators at A1, supervisors at B5, zone supervisors at C3 — replacing the SI 41 of 2022 schedule for the subsector.

This registered collective bargaining agreement, published under section 80(1) of the Labour Act, covers the sugarcane subsector of the agricultural industry. The employer parties are the Zimbabwe Sugarcane Employers Organisation, ZAEO, ZCFU and ZFU; the employee parties are GAPWUZ and HGAPWUZ.

The parties revoke the job schedule in S.I. 41 of 2022 for the sugarcane subsector and adopt the NEC's Sugarcane Sector Job Evaluation Report 2024 in its place.

The report grades the subsector's jobs across three broad bands. Band A covers cane cutters, furrow irrigators, gardeners, cleaners and general workers at A1, crop guards, chemical sprayers, herdsmen and field general workers at A2, and pivot operators, pump attendants, tyre fitters and security guards at A3. Band B runs from crop scouters and drip maintenance hands at B1 through tractor drivers and semi-skilled trades at B2, clerks and plant operators at B3, foremen and truck drivers at B4, to supervisors and skilled welders at B5. Band C covers zone clerks at C1, agronomy supervisors, accounts and farm clerks, skilled plumbers, builders and mechanics at C2, and zone supervisors at C3.

The agreement was signed at Harare on 15 January 2025 and binds all organisations in the agricultural industry. It sets the grading structure only; the wage attaching to each grade is set by separate agreements.

What changed

  • The S.I. 41 of 2022 job schedule is revoked for the sugarcane subsector
  • The NEC Sugarcane Sector Job Evaluation Report 2024 becomes the subsector's job and grade schedule
  • Jobs are graded across bands A1–A3, B1–B5 and C1–C3
  • Binding on all organisations within the agricultural industry

Who this affects

  • Sugarcane estates and their employers in the Lowveld
  • Cane cutters, irrigators and estate supervisors
  • HR and payroll teams on sugar estates

Plain-language summary — not legal advice. Always read the full instrument.