Collective Bargaining Agreement Agricultural Industry
From 1 September 2023, farm workers pay 1.5% of basic wages in NEC Agriculture council dues with employers matching it — 3% in total, remitted by the 10th of the following month, with 10% a year interest on arrears.
This publishes a collective bargaining agreement on council dues for the whole agricultural industry, registered under section 79 of the Labour Act and approved for publication by the Minister of Public Service, Labour and Social Welfare. It further amends the agreement published in S.I. 41 of 2022 and is backdated to 1 September 2023.
Every employer must deduct 1.5% per month from the basic monthly wage or salary of each employee — permanent, seasonal, casual and fixed-term contract alike — and remit it to NEC Agriculture in the currency the wage was paid in.
The employer must then contribute a matching 1.5% of the total basic monthly wages of all those employees, again in the currency of the wage. The combined monthly contribution to NEC Agriculture is therefore 3% of basic wages.
The money must reach the Council's Chief Executive Officer or Secretary in full no later than the 10th day of the month following the deduction, together with the declaration form and any other document the Council prescribes. Employers must declare all permanent, seasonal, casual and fixed-term employees currently employed as defined in S.I. 41 of 2022 and its amendments.
Arrears carry interest at 10% per annum, accruing daily from the due date until the outstanding dues and interest are paid in full.
The agreement was signed at Harare on 22 September 2023 by the employer parties (ZAEO, ZFU, ZCFU, CFU, ZTGA, ZTA, TPA, ZSEO, ZKPA, ZIAA, HDC and agro and horticulture representatives) and the employee parties (GAPWUZ, HGAPWUZ and KWUZ), and it binds all organisations in the industry — including farms that are not members of any of the signatory bodies.
What changed
- Employers must deduct 1.5% of basic monthly wages as council dues from every employee, including seasonal and casual workers
- Employers must match this with a further 1.5%, bringing the total to 3% of basic wages
- Dues are remitted in the currency the wage was paid in
- Remittance is due by the 10th day of the month following deduction, with a declaration form
- Interest of 10% per annum, accruing daily, applies to outstanding dues
- The agreement is backdated to 1 September 2023 and binds all organisations in the agricultural industry
Who this affects
- commercial and smallholder farm employers
- permanent, seasonal, casual and fixed-term farm workers
- tea, tobacco, timber, sugarcane, horticulture and kapenta producers
- farm payroll administrators
- NEC for the Agricultural Industry
Plain-language summary — not legal advice. Always read the full instrument.