Africa-Press – Mozambique. The Chamber of Mines of Mozambique (CMM) expressed its disappointment with the new minimum salary for the large mining companies announced on Tuesday.
“Double digit increases of the minimum salary for the mining industry are unsustainable” said CMM president Geert Klok about the announced increase of 18%.
The mining industry is competing internationally. A rapidly increasing wage bill reduces Mozambique’s competitiveness on the global stage.
The CMM noted that the minimum wage for the sector had already been increased by 16% in 2023. Wages are one of the main cost components for mining companies.
The Chamber of Mines considers the formula used to determinate the increase of the minimum wage of the sector to be fundamentally flawed. The increase is based not only on the inflation but all so on the growth of the extractive industry. The CMM president pointed out that the growth in the extractive industry was largely due to the increase in natural gas exports. The production of natural gas is not part of the mining industry. For this year, the industry had proposed an increase of 7,13%, equal to last year’s inflation rate.
For the Mozambican mining industry, 2023 was a mixed year. Some of the Chamber’s members were impacted by the instability in Cabo Delgado. Others suffered from low demand and low prices on the global market. These factors should be taken into account when determining the minimum salary argues the CMM. The CMM also questions why the new minimum wage in mining industry is so much higher than the minimum wage in the manufacturing industry,
The Chamber of Mines of Mozambique (CMM) fears that the new minimum wage may put further pressure on the parts of the industry that were already struggling. The increase in the minimum wage is likely to result in more general pay increases in the mining industry. Klok warned that jobs could be lost as result. He also feared that new investors would find Mozambique a less attractive investment destination, calling on the government to adopt policies that strengthen the mining industry.
The Chamber of Mines of Mozambique was founded in 2012 to promote and grow the Mozambican mining industry. A vast majority of medium and large mining companies in Mozambique are members.
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