By Alois Vinga

BANKING sector workers have vowed to go back to the negotiation table for a review of the just concluded Collective Bargaining Agreement (CBA) which saw the sector’s employers agreeing to increase salaries by 60,7%.

A copy of the CBA seen by NewZimbabwe.com, signed on April 5, 2022, shows that the least paid worker in the banking sector will take home ZW$90 000 per month, up from ZW$26 112.

Under the new arrangement, a driver in the banking sector will be taking home ZW$95 000 while a machinist sorter will get ZW$97 922. Workers in grade C will be earning ZW$100 5656.

Mid-level workers in grade DP1 will be earning ZW$123 115.

The highest paid worker in grade DP V will now be taking home ZW$142 822, up from ZW$41 438.

Speaking on the developments, Zimbabwe Banks and Allied Workers Union (Zibawu) secretary general, Peter Mutasa vowed to return to the negotiations table saying the rising inflationary pressures have since eroded the wages.

“We are deeply worried that the workers are the only losers now in the labour market. The continued bargaining based on RTGS isn’t sustainable anymore,” Mutasa said.

“Soon after signing a collective agreement, inflation and exchange rate losses wiped all the gains and workers are back, if not worse than they were,” he said.

Mutasa said most businesses are continuing the errant practices of pegging prices far ahead of the parallel market rates for reasons to do with hedging against inflationary pressures.

“For the banking sector we have no choice, we have to drag employers back to the negotiations table again. Our agreement is clear that either party can call for negotiations anytime. We believe it was unfortunate that before workers earned the new salaries, inflation and exchange rate losses have made these salaries nugatory,” he added.