Last month, after deadlock between the trade unions and the employers associations in the tripartite negotiating forum, the Consultative Labour Commission (CCT), the government had to intervene a fix this year's increase in the statutory minimum wage.
The unions had proposed a rise of 17 per cent, the employers refused to go beyond 13 per cent, and the government eventually fixed the rise at 14 per cent. This brought the minimum wage for industry and services from 1,443 to 1,645 meticais (63.6 US dollars) a month. The rise is backdated to 1 April.
Cited in Thursday's issue of the Maputo daily "Noticias", the Deputy Planning and Development Minister, Victor Bernardo, said that the 14 per cent rise would be applied only to the bottom two groups in the state apparatus. The three groups slightly above this will receive a 13 per cent rise (bringing their minimum to 1,720 meticais a month).
For all of the government's other civilian employees, the rise is only nine per cent.
As for the armed forces (FADM), privates, corporals and sergeants receive a 14 per cent rise. For higher ranks the wage rise varies from 12 to nine per cent The minimum wage in the FADM rises from 1,238 to 1,411 meticais a month.
The lowest paid Mozambican policeman was already earning considerably more than the statutory minimum wage, and so the government fixed the wage rise for the entire police force at nine per cent. Thus the lowest police wage rises from 1,925 to 2,113 meticais a month.
Bernardo also briefed reporters on the reconstruction of houses destroyed by the explosions at the FADM arsenal in the outlying Maputo suburb of Malhazine arsenal on 22 March.
"We had houses that were totally destroyed and others partially destroyed", he said. "We counted 101 totally destroyed.
Work is under way on rebuilding 20 houses and, as from next Monday, we will start rebuilding a further 10 houses a week".
Most of the work done so far, he added, had involved small building companies, and had centred on assessing the damage, and drawing up repair or rebuilding plans.
"With the start of the construction phase, the pace will pick up", he pledged.
SOURCE: AIM
