Lovemore Matombo, the ZCTU President said US$454 a month, which he said was the poverty datum line, was "not negotiable".
He said it was supposed to come into effect on January 1 but employers had asked for a waiver for them to adjust to the dollarised economy.
"They (employers) said they will pay in February and I don’t think there is anybody who says he or she cannot pay the PDL. Every employer should be able to pay it and there are no excuses," he said.
The country’s workforce – including the civil service – got salaries and wages below US$200 in February and Matombo said employers must settle the difference.
Told that some employers will fail to reach the PDL levels, Matombo accused the country’s business sector of being insensitive to the plight of workers.
"The major issue is that some business people are indisciplined and in a culture of profiteering," he said.
Zimbabwean workers were being paid salaries in local currency at a time the economy had dollarised.
Employers argued that they did not have foreign currency since they were trading in local currency. They said they needed approval from the central before they could start paying out salaries in foreign currency.
In his monetary policy statement last month, central bank governor, Gideon Gono, said employers should pay in foreign currency following government’s decision to allow the use of multiple currencies side by side the shattered Zimbabwe dollar.
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Post published in: News