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Govt in U-turn over domestics' wages
The Financial Gazette
May 12, 2005

http://www.fingaz.co.zw/fingaz/2005/May/May12/8446.shtml

THE government, which last month issued new wage benchmarks for domestic workers, has bowed under pressure and looks set to review the figures downwards, The Financial Gazette can reveal.

Government sources said that the wage increases, which would see domestic workers earning between $800 000 and $1.2 million per month and had sparked an uproar from business and labour unions alike, would soon be reversed.

Lance Museka, the permanent secretary in the Ministry of Labour, Public Service and Social Welfare, confirmed the development yesterday.

"The concerns from stakeholders have been noted. The concerns are genuine and there really is need for a rethink.

"The ministry is currently working on a paper for presentation to Cabinet," Museka said.

The Confederation of Zimbabwe Industries has called on government to revoke the statutory instrument prescribing the new wages, saying the move had built up wage pressure for industrialists, while the Zimbabwe Union of Trade Unions warned that the increases would hurt the intended beneficiaries, who could be laid off after their employers failed to sustain the higher wage levels.

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