Government approves new minimum wages

Maputo, 1 May (AIM) – The Mozambican government on Tuesday announced new minimum wages for the private sector, with increases ranging from 3.13 to 18 per cent.

There is no longer a single national minimum wage. Instead, the minimum wage is negotiated by sector and sub-sector. This means there are now 18 separate minimum wages.

The Deputy Minister of Labour, Rolinho Farnela, announced the new wages at a press briefing after the weekly meeting of the Council of Ministers (Cabinet).

He said they were the result of consensus achieved at the Labour Consultative Commission, the tripartite negotiating forum between the government, the trade unions and the employers’ associations.

The new monthly minimum wages announced by Farnela are as follows:

Agriculture, livestock and forestry – 6,331 meticais (slightly less than 100 US dollars, at the current exchange rate). This is an increase from 5,800 meticais, a rise of 9.27 per cent.
Fisheries: a) Industrial and semi-industrial fishing – 6,531.79 meticais (an increase of five per cent on the previous wage of 6,220.75 meticais a month)
b) the Kapenta (Lake Tanganyika sardine) fishery on the Cahora Bassa reservoir – 4,941.68 meticais (an increase of 3.13 per cent on the previous wage of 4,791.68 meticais).

3. Mining. a) large companies – 14,143.8 meticais (up from 12,020.2 meticais, an increase of 18 per cent).

b) Quarries and sandpits) – 7,700 meticais (up from 7,380, a rise of 4.34 per cent).

c) Small companies, including salt pans – 6,335 meticais (up from 6.034 meticais, an increase of five per cent).

4. Manufacturing industry – 9,497.5 meticais (an increase of 8.57 per cent on the current figure of 8,747.5 meticais)

a) Bakeries – 6,800 meticais (up from 6.300 meticais, an increase of 7.93 per cent).

b) Cashew processing – 6,278.31 meticais (up from 5,583.21 meticais, a rise of 7.26 per cent).

5. Electricity, gas and water a) large companies – 11,625 meticais (up from 10,475 meticais, an increase of 10.98 per cent;

b) Small and medium companies – 9,433.3 meticais (up from 8,500 meticais, also a rise of 10.98 per cent).

6. Building industry. 8,000 meticais (up from 7,409.08 meticais, an increase of 7.98 per cent).

7. Non-financial services – 9,560 meticais (a rise of 11.5 per cent on the current figure of 8,574 meticais);

a) Tourism and hotel industry – 8,900 meticais (up from 7,715 meticais, an increase of 15.4 per cent)

b) Private security companies – 9,190 meticais (up from 8,464.5 meticais, a rise of 4.66 per cent)

c) Fuel retailers – 9,204 meticais (up from 8,464.5 meticais, an increase of 8.74 per cent).

8. Financial services a) banking and insurance – 17,981.32 meticais (up from 16,061.32 meticais – a rise of 10.71 per cent).

b) Micro-finance companies – 15,641.29 meticais (an increase of 10.53 per cent on the current wage of 14,241.29 meticais).

These wage rises are all backdated to 1 April.

Farnela admitted that the new minimum wages “are not the desirable wages, but the possible ones”. They “reflect the economic and social moment the country is living through”, including the impact of the terrorist raids in the northern province of Cabo Delgado, and of the Russian war against Ukraine.

Missing from this table are the workers of the public administration and of the defence and security forces, whose wages are fixed by the government, and are no longer negotiated at the CCT

(AIM)

Pf/ (550)