Maputo, 1 May (AIM) – The General Secretary of the main Mozambican trade union confederation, the OTM, Alexandre Munguambe, on Monday claimed that, during this year’s negotiations for new minimum wages, the employers threatened mass redundancies.
Speaking on the occasion of International Workers’ Day, after laying a wreath at Maputo’s Monument to the Mozambican Heroes, Munguambe said the employers (represented by the Confederation of Mozambican Business Associations, CTA) had raised many difficulties in the negotiations in the Consultative Labour Commission (CCT), the tripartite negotiating forum between the government, the unions and the employers.
The CCT negotiations led to new minimum wages, approved by the government last week. Although the wage increases were described as “consensual”, the OTM has made it clear that it was disappointed, and wanted much higher rises.
Munguambe told reporters “the workers did not expect these wages that were approved. They expected much better wages. But the companies raised various difficulties, and threatened to sack a large number of workers. To keep the few jobs we have, we preferred to enter an agreement with them, so that the wages would be paid in the way they are being paid now”.
Munguambe added that a further chronic problem faced by workers are the increased fares for urban public transport.
He thought that an ideal monthly minimum wage would be 31,000 meticais (484 US dollars, at the current exchange rate).
The wages approved last week come nowhere near this figure. They range from 4,791 meticais a month, for workers of fishing companies on the Cahora Bassa reservoir in Tete province, to 16,061 meticais for workers in financial services.
At the same ceremony, Labour Minister Margarida Talapa called for dialogue between workers and their employers to fix wages, depending on the production of each institution.
“These minimum wages approved are the minimum limits, but companies that produce more can very well negotiate, discuss and pay wages in line with their profitability”, said the Minister.
She called for calm during these continued negotiations.
(AIM)
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