Collective Bargaining Agreement: Salaries and Wages: Ferro-Alloy Industry, 2026

The Minister of Public Service, Labour and Social Welfare has published an amended collective bargaining agreement for the ferro-alloy industry, between the Ferro-Alloy Industry Employers' Association and the National Union of Metal and Allied Industries in Zimbabwe. It amends the 2017 agreement (S.I. 76 of 2017) and binds all employers and employees producing ferrochrome, ferromanganese and ferrosilicon chrome, including where the same employer mines and processes the ore. It applies from registration, and the parties agreed not to reopen it for twelve months except for major changes, though wages may be reviewed periodically.

Minimum monthly wages (US$) are: grade 1 332.03; 2 340.33; 3 347.73; 4 358.59; 5 381.54; 6 404.47; 7 420.18; 8 441.90; 9 469.68; 10 524.01; 11 562.65; 12 658.03; 13 813.80; 14 856.05; 15 898.31; and 16 1,023.89. Cleaners and general labourers are grade 1; fork-lift drivers and security guards grade 6; lorry and heavy vehicle drivers grade 8; excavator, dozer and loader operators grade 9; control-room operators grade 12; production and safety supervisors grade 14; class 2 journeymen and lab analysts grade 15; and class 1 skilled workers, electricians, fitters and diesel mechanics grade 16. Minimums rise by 4% after five years' service, 6% after ten, 8% after fifteen, 10% after twenty and 12% after twenty-five. The housing allowance is 7% of basic wage from 1 March 2024.

Ordinary hours are 48 a week (no more than 9 a day) for day workers, 48 a week in shifts of up to 12 hours for guards, and 42 a week for shift workers, with a 56-hour weekly ceiling including overtime except in emergencies. Overtime is paid at time-and-a-half, and double on days off and industrial holidays; the hourly rate is monthly basic pay divided by 182.5. Casual workers get at least double the hourly rate and become permanent after six weeks in three months. Standby staff are paid a full shift's allowance per standby week plus overtime when called out. Sick leave is 90 days on full pay and 90 on half pay; gratuities of 15% to 40% of monthly wage per year of service are due after ten years unless a pension scheme is no less favourable. Employers and employees each pay 2% of basic salary in council dues, and employers must file monthly labour statistics with the NEC.

A new code of conduct sets progressive penalties — first, second and final written warnings lapsing after 3, 6 and 12 months — and dismissal for offences such as five or more days' unauthorised absence, theft or fraud, drunkenness on duty, unlawful collective job action, physical gender-based harassment and serious safety violations. Suspension with full pay is mandatory for certain breaches. Hearings must be completed within 14 working days, internal appeals lodged within five working days and concluded within fifteen, with further appeal to the NEC's designated agent within 30 days or to the Labour Court. The published agreement also contains schedules on protective equipment, fixed-term contracts, young persons and shift rosters that fall beyond the portion of text this summary was written from.