A winter of discontent
The Consumer Council of Zimbabwe says a family of six required about ZWL$92,000 per month as of end March to survive, up from ZWL$78,191.39 due to knock-on effects of the Eastern Europe conflict and the volatile exchange rate.
The CCZ said the food basket increased by ZWL$2 810.70 to ZWL$33 092.52 by the end of March 2022.
It attributed the spike in the cost of living to the Russia-Ukraine war which had a knock on effect on prices of goods and services locally.
“The current global dynamics including disturbances in Ukraine resulted in spillover effects on domestic prices. Such global developments include increases in the international prices of oil, gas, fertiliser and cooking crude oil, products of which Russia and Ukraine are major producers,” it said.
The depreciation of the local currency against the greenback on the parallel market has worsened the situation. Monetary authorities say the depreciation is more behavioural and is not backed by fundamentals.
Critics say the depreciation is a result of the government’s unchecked expenditure which will rise as the 2023 elections beckon.
The depreciation comes into the tobacco marketing season in which an injection of new money into the market would have been expected to stabilise the exchange rate.
The jump is significant, more so as it comes at a time when salaries have been outpaced by rising prices of goods and services. More than half of the workforce are earning below the consumer basket, making them the working poor.
It is a sad situation for the employee who is still smarting from the effects of the Covid-19 pandemic.
This will pile pressure on the employers to review salaries. The employee is also recuperating from Covid-19 effects such as hard lockdowns and shorter working hours.
The two constituencies have to find each other, notwithstanding the challenges they face.
The civil servants have also approached the government for a salary review saying the last increment was outpaced by the galloping prices.
In his Independence Day message on Monday, President Emmerson Mnangagwa said the government was committed to ensuring that public officers, including those in the health and education sectors, have conditions of service commensurate with their important role in driving national development.
He said the government also recognised the critical role played by organised workers as well as employer organisations through the Tripartite Negotiating Forum.
The government has to walk the talk: first by paying its employees in line with the consumer basket and by creating a favourable environment for business to thrive.
Discontent is simmering. Good labour relations will save the economy from experiencing a winter of discontent.
