A SHARP minimum salary rise in the public sector and more precisely in the civil service to 0.5m/- while wages in the private sector were left unregulated has sparked discomfort in the trade union movement. Reports say that the Tanzania Plantation and Agricultural Workers Union (TPAWU) has called on the government to expedite the ongoing process of setting a new minimum wage for private sector workers, while it wasn’t well known that there are such ongoing efforts. It said that basic wage shouldn’t absolutely fall below 0.35m/-.

There were remarks from President Samia Suluhu Hassan when officiating at the May Day celebrations in Singida a few weeks ago of the government’s commitment to reviewing the legal framework governing private sector wages. It is uncertain if there is much to examine in the legal framework as different from the wage levels as trade unions wish, which makes the issue virtually impossible to resolve. The private sector is a myriad of work centres varying a lot one from another, and unlike public entities, in hot competition for survival.

Yet the private sector, or indeed each private company, can’t be left entirely free to its own designs about wages, compensation or other workplace issues of considerable impact on welfare. Being aware of the need to regulate welfare in the private sector while respecting its radically different operational environment, where the principle of ‘willing seller and willing buyer’ of anyone’s labour operates optimally. Upsetting this push and pull for the loyalty of labour with fiat on wages leads to a sharp rise in prices, offloading workers.

For one thing, there is little chance that the responsible minister will act swiftly and finalize the wage review process, whose outcome should be published in the government gazette for implementation alongside the revised public sector wage, due on July 1. If that option was feasible, it would have been attached to the May Day changes as a comprehensive deal, not requiring further research on wages, prices and profits at present, and what’s more, in an environment where the legislature is set to be dissolved in what is now a matter of weeks.

There are limits to which an inclusive and consultative process can be pursued in this regard, as the basic ‘template,’ details comprising an effective idea of minimum wage, are the same in public or private working spheres. What is not comparable is the income, especially its sustainability as there is no overall protector of a private company, unlike in the public sector. What the state often does is to interpret international conventions for instance against indecent work, demeaning forms of labour and especially when exercised on children.

For the rest the principle of willing buyer and willing seller is maintained as it optimizes hiring, when the wages are noticeably low. That is why the demand for a 350,000/- private sector minimum wage risks closure of many companies as they would be unable to employ the staff they need on that basis. The point here is that trade unions ought to conduct factual appraisals of wage levels and number of people hired, not see higher wage as welfare, simplistically. It is welfare to a job holder and an impediment to those who seek any job offers.