Collective Bargaining Agreement Agricultural Industry Sugarcane Subsector
Sugarcane workers' minimum wage rises about 20% from 1 July 2023 — grade A1 goes from about US$100 to US$120 a month and grade C2 from about US$229 to US$274, part paid in US dollars and part converted to local currency.
This registered collective bargaining agreement sets new minimum monthly wages for the sugarcane subsector of the agricultural industry, effective 1 July 2023. It was agreed between the employer parties — ZAEO, ZCFU, ZFU, CFU and agro employer representatives — and the unions GAPWUZ and HGAPWUZ, and it binds all organisations in the agricultural industry.
Wages are indexed in United States dollars and split into two parts: a US dollar component and a component converted to local currency. At grade A1 the new split is US$90 plus US$30 converted, a total of about US$120 a month, against a former US$75 plus US$25, about US$100. At grade C2, the top listed grade, the new split is US$206 plus US$68, about US$274, against a former US$172 plus US$57, about US$229. Across the ten grades the increase is roughly 20%.
The US dollar components for the intermediate grades are US$100 (A2), US$108 (A3), US$119 (B1), US$130 (B2), US$143 (B3), US$156 (B4), US$173 (B5) and US$187 (C1), each with a converted component of about a third of that figure.
The printed ZW$ column is only a snapshot. It converts the local currency component at the interbank rate on 20 July 2023 of USD1 : ZW$4 752,27140, giving ZW$142 568 at A1 and ZW$323 154 at C2. The operative rule is different: from 1 July 2023 the Zimbabwe dollar amount is worked out at the interbank rate prevailing on the 20th day of the month for which the wage is due, so it moves every month. Figures in the schedule are rounded to the nearest dollar.
Employers or employees may apply to the National Employment Council for full or partial exemption from, or review of, these wages, giving reasons, within 14 days of the date of agreement.
On timing, the agreement was signed at Harare on 20 July 2023 with effect from 1 July 2023, but only gazetted on 24 May 2024 — about ten months later, so it applies retrospectively. The wage table's column headings are dense and the two US dollar columns are easy to confuse, so the split should be checked against the Gazette before it is used to build a payslip.
What changed
- New minimum monthly wages for the sugarcane subsector effective 1 July 2023
- Grade A1 total minimum rises from about US$100 to about US$120 a month, and grade C2 from about US$229 to about US$274
- The wage is split into a US dollar component and a component converted to local currency, roughly three to one
- US dollar components run US$90 (A1), US$100, US$108, US$119, US$130, US$143, US$156, US$173, US$187 and US$206 (C2)
- The local currency amount is converted at the interbank rate prevailing on the 20th of the month for which the wage is due
- The printed ZW$ column uses the 20 July 2023 rate of USD1 : ZW$4 752,27140 as an illustration only
- Employers and employees may apply to the NEC for exemption or review within 14 days of the date of agreement
Who this affects
- sugarcane estate and plantation workers in grades A1 to C2
- sugarcane growers and milling estates in the Lowveld
- GAPWUZ and HGAPWUZ members
- farm payroll administrators
- the National Employment Council for the Agricultural Industry
Plain-language summary — not legal advice. Always read the full instrument.