CTA WANTS TO CONSIDER “ECONOMIC REALITY”

The president of the Confederation of Mozambican Business Associations (CTA), Salimo Abdula, has argued that negotiations on fixing the statutory minimum wage must take into account the country’s economic reality.Speaking on Tuesday during a debate about the technicalities of fixing the minimum wage, Abdula said that “the economic reality should be discussed with total frankness, to secure the few formal sector jobs we have”.He claimed that if “emotional decisions” are taken then companies will not recruit new workers, but will merely do what they can to continue paying the workers they already have.The employers’ position shows that it will be difficult to reach consensus between the parties involved in the current negotiations over increasing the minimum wage, since the unions are arguing that the cost of living, based on a basket of goods and services for a family of five members, should be used as the reference point.The unions want a minimum wage of 7,200 meticais (about 200 US dollars), which is more than four times the current minimum wage is paid in the agricultural sector..  Although Mozambique’s economy has been growing at an annual average of seven per cent, last year the country’s economy suffered various external shocks, arising from the international financial crisis and the rising prices of food and fuel on the world market. These factors have affected the performance of many companies.Because of this, the unions expect that the negotiations this year will be “very difficult”, especially when taking into account the high cost of living which last September led to violent protests.If there is no consensus on an increased minimum wage at the Labour Consultative Commission, the tripartite negotiating body between the government, the trade unions and the employers’ associations, the government will impose a decision.