Bankers in Zimbabwe want part of their salaries paid in U.S. dollars in a bid to cushion them from soaring inflation and a depreciating currency.
According to a report by Bloomberg, the workers are demanding that their pay be based on what they were earning in 2018.
Shepard Ngandu, assistant secretary-general of the Zimbabwe Banks and Allied Workers’ Union said salaries issued in the local currency were of no value due to the dollarization seen in the economy.
Zimbabwe’s economy has been struggling for years, hit by massive inflation as well as food and fuel shortages.
But the workers’ demands are seen as implausible.
“Not all banks generate foreign currency and others won’t be able to afford such a request,” Bloomberg quotes Ralph Watungwa, president of the nation’s Bankers Association.
“Due to digitization, there should be a request that there should be consolidation of the industry to protect jobs, as some banks would simply close their branches if this request is followed through.”
Last month, Zimbabwe’s central bank began weekly foreign currency auctions in a bid to draw scarce foreign currency into the formal market.
