{"id":1678,"date":"2026-01-29T17:40:15","date_gmt":"2026-01-29T17:40:15","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/thewasupost.co.zw\/?p=1678"},"modified":"2026-01-29T17:40:15","modified_gmt":"2026-01-29T17:40:15","slug":"zctu-rejects-ncubes-call-for-realistic-wage-demands","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/thewasupost.co.zw\/index.php\/2026\/01\/29\/zctu-rejects-ncubes-call-for-realistic-wage-demands\/","title":{"rendered":"ZCTU Rejects Ncube\u2019s Call for \u201cRealistic\u201d Wage Demands"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

By Fanuel Chinowaita<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

\n
\"\"
ZCTU Secretary General Tirivanhu Marimo<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Harare, 29 January, 2026 <\/strong>\u2014 The Zimbabwe Congress of Trade Unions (ZCTU) has strongly rejected Finance Minister Mthuli Ncube\u2019s call for workers to be \u201crealistic\u201d in their wage demands, accusing him of ignoring the harsh economic realities facing employees and downplaying the fragility of the Zimbabwe Gold (ZIG) currency.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In a press statement released yesterday, ZCTU said it was \u201cappalled\u201d by remarks from Minister Ncube urging labour to align salary adjustment demands with inflation, citing what he described as the stabilisation of the ZIG currency.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The labour federation said the Minister\u2019s comments showed \u201ca profound disregard for the daily struggles and lived realities of Zimbabwean workers,\u201d arguing that purchasing power continues to be severely eroded despite official inflation figures.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cWe are extremely worried that the purported reduction of December 2025 USD year-on-year inflation figure of 12.39% to 4.1% in January 2026 is a result of serious manipulation,\u201d ZCTU said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cIf this is so, there is every reason for every economic player to be worried. This distorts our statistics and seriously impacts our ability to attract serious investors.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

ZCTU further challenged government claims that the ZIG has stabilised, describing the currency\u2019s performance as \u201cartificial and fragile\u201d in an economy that remains heavily dollarised.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cIn an economy that remains overwhelmingly dollarised, this stability lacks guaranteed longevity,\u201d the statement said. \u201cOrdinary Zimbabweans do not experience this so-called stability; instead, they live in constant fear of sudden devaluation.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The labour body noted that the ZIG \u201cfails the basic credibility test,\u201d arguing that it is not accepted for essential transactions such as fuel, medicines and passports, which are largely priced in United States dollars.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

ZCTU also highlighted the structure of the economy, stating that about 84 percent of economic activity is informal and predominantly conducted in US dollars.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cIn such an environment, no rational person would choose to preserve their value in a currency that lacks widespread acceptance and confidence,\u201d the statement read.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The union reiterated that labour\u2019s wage demands are based on real economic conditions rather than \u201cabstract theories that offer no tangible relief,\u201d maintaining that workers should earn salaries above the poverty datum line and in a stable currency.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

As the 2026 collective bargaining season begins, ZCTU urged workers and negotiators to ignore what it termed the Minister\u2019s \u201cmisguided comments,\u201d which it said were intended to pressure employers into paying wages in the ZIG.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cInstead, we must collectively negotiate for meaningful wage increases payable in a credible and worthy currency,\u201d said ZCTU Secretary General Tirivanhu Marimo.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

By Fanuel Chinowaita Harare, 29 January, 2026 \u2014 The Zimbabwe Congress of Trade Unions (ZCTU) has strongly rejected Finance Minister Mthuli Ncube\u2019s call for workers to be \u201crealistic\u201d in their wage demands, accusing him of ignoring the harsh economic realities facing employees and downplaying the fragility of the Zimbabwe Gold (ZIG) currency. In a press…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[3],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-1678","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-national-news"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/thewasupost.co.zw\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1678","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/thewasupost.co.zw\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/thewasupost.co.zw\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/thewasupost.co.zw\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/thewasupost.co.zw\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1678"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/thewasupost.co.zw\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1678\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":1679,"href":"https:\/\/thewasupost.co.zw\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1678\/revisions\/1679"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/thewasupost.co.zw\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1678"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/thewasupost.co.zw\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=1678"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/thewasupost.co.zw\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1678"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}