An analysis of adoption of a productivity- linked wage system in Zimbabwe: Case study of Harare Metropolitan Province

Abstract

Zimbabwe is a nation with a diversity of employees working and industries that are performing differently. A push has been made by the Employers’ Confederation of Zimbabwe as well as through the Minister of Finance and Economic Development Honorable MP Patrick Chinamasa to adopt productivity- linked wage Systems largely due to the current economic environment production levels below 40%. The viability and the acceptance of the wage system were looked at in the research as well as to get a better understanding of the pay system. The main objective of this study was to find how the current labour laws, employee perception and industry sector have some bearing on the adoption of the productivity- linked wage system. Various researchers have researched on productivity- linked wage systems looking at the factors that affect its adoption and implementation as well as its correctional and regression relationship with labour laws, employee perception and industry sector. The findings of the research displayed that the independent variables played a positive role in the acceptance of the wage system under study. Using stratified random sampling mostly among different industries such as agriculture, financial services, telecommunications, tourism and manufacturing and employees based upon their position level in the organization, the sample was selected. Random sampling was then used in selecting the participants for the various industries and employee levels. The reliability of the study was acceptable as it was above 0.7making the items of the questionnaire reliable and useful to make inferences from. With a response rate of 79.5 % from a sample of (n=200), from the 12 sectors understudy it was concluded that the three variables had a positive impact on productivity- linked wage systems implementation as they explained 34.2% of the linear model of regression for the dependent variable. Not all the factors p- values were statistically significant, as for labour laws it was due to chance. The null hypothesis was rejected. It was recommended that employees be made aware and involved greatly in the introduction, implementation and determination of wage systems particularly for productivity- linked wage systems. A productivity centre needs to be first established and trust must develop between the tripartite to make the wage system work. It must be introduced into phases gradually dominating as the main wage systems.