Maputo municipal workers on strike

Maputo, 20 Jun (AIM) – Staff of Maputo Municipal Council went on strike on Monday, demanding that they be paid in accordance with the recently approved Single Wage Table (TSU) for the public administration.

This is the second time in six months that Maputo municipal workers have taken strike action in pursuit of their incorporation into the TSU.

One municipal worker, Aquilino Francisco, cited by the independent television station STV, said there had been various meetings and promises, which had resulted in nothing.

“We signed a document last November for new wages, and so far we are not receiving them”, he claimed. He said that many municipal workers are reaching retirement age, and unless they were swiftly incorporated into the TSU, their monthly pension would be a mere 4,000 meticais (63 US dollars, at the current exchange rate).

The law on the TSU is ambiguous, and it is not clear whether it covers municipalities. Certainly the Maputo municipal council has ruled out paying wages in line with the TSU, because it would be far too expensive.

The Council estimates that it would need an extra 30 million meticais a month to bring municipal wages into line with the TSU. The municipal director of planning and finance, Ossemane Narcy, warned “If the municipality were to pay wages on the basis of the TSU, it would be left with no capacity to provide basic public health services, such as the collection of solid waste”.

The head of human resources in the municipality, Octavio de Jesus, agreed. He said that, since wages would be greater than the city’s internally generated revenue, it would be quite unable to pay wages based on the TSU.

“To apply the TSU, the municipality needs an injection of funds from the central government”, said de Jesus. “When possible, the TSU will be applied”.

The municipality is in contact with the Ministry of Economy and Finance, seeking a solution.

The municipality has rather more than 4,000 employees, most of whom are on the minimum wage. If the TSU were to be introduced, their wages would double.

At a meeting on 12 April, chaired by the Mayor of Maputo, Eneas Comiche, he said there was not enough money in the municipality’s coffers to implement the TSU.

The workers have not accepted this. One of them, Abilio Taulane, told reporters they were not on strike, but merely “holding a demonstration, because they made us a promise”.

“Suspending the demonstration depends on the answer they give us”, he added.
(AIM)
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