"Zimbabwe: Miners Push Wage Negotiations to Next Year", 13 December 2019.

Negotiations for the 2020 minimum wage in the mining sector have been pushed to next year due to the deepening economic crisis characterised by quickening inflation...The country is facing its worst economic crisis in a decade, punctuated by a debilitating liquidity crunch, acute foreign currency shortages, prolonged power cuts lasting up to 18 hours daily, industrial capacity utilisation of less than 40% and runaway inflation of more than 400%.

Associated Mineworkers’ Union of Zimbabwe president Tinago Ruzive told businessdigest on Wednesday that the hyperinflationary environment has resulted in the wage talks with the Chamber of Mines to be postponed due to the rapid decline of the local currency...He said that the currency volatility as a result of the decline of the local unit had sharply eroded incomes, with workers struggling to buy basic commodities.

The two parties recently agreed on a 90% increase in the minimum wage, the third time that an increment has been effected this year as a result of the inflationary environment...In an interview earlier this year, immediate past Chamber of Mines president and Bindura Nickel Corporation managing director Batsirai Manhando pointed out that labour is one of the major cost drivers in the sector...“Labour costs have remained a huge cost driver in the mining industry, constituting around 34% of total revenue in the sector. In this regard, any upward adjustment to the wage rate will have serious consequences on the cost, and hence viability of mining companies. With most companies making losses and some having already been placed under care and maintenance, there is growing concern that there will be some company closures if the cost structure remains unsustainably high.”