Mozambique's Single Salary Table Reform Doubles Minimum Wage for Public Servants

Source: Lusa | Published: 06 Jan 2025

Mozambique's government has announced that the implementation of the Single Salary Table (TSU) since 2022 has nearly doubled the minimum wage for public sector employees in the direct administration of the state, increasing it from 4,468 meticais (€68) to 8,758 meticais (€133).

According to a government document, this salary hike was part of a broader reform aimed at valuing and professionalizing civil servants. The document states, "Public servants who earned the minimum wage in the direct administration of the State before the TSU saw their salaries increase through the classification process."

The reform was justified by the overwhelming complexity of the previous salary system, which included 89 salary levels, 103 salary tables, and a vast array of 5,625 salary combinations with 35 different supplements or subsidies. This led to significant disparities among employees with similar roles.

The TSU has had a tiered impact:

• Employees below the average wage saw significant salary increases, particularly those in general regime careers.
• Those with salaries above the average experienced no increase since the classification under TSU does not equate to promotions or career advancements.

The government document further explains that the TSU was designed to:

• Ensure consistent quality improvement in public services.
• Address historical imbalances in the remuneration system between direct and indirect state administrations.
• Stabilize payroll by linking permanent salary supplements to base salaries, thereby also enhancing the pension benefits for retiring employees to reflect their active earnings more closely.

However, this reform has not been without its challenges. Public expenditure on salaries grew by 4.2% from January to September 2024, reaching 152,916 million meticais (€2,266 million), representing more than half of Mozambique's total public spending for that period, which totaled 247,945 million meticais (€3,672 million).

The implementation of the TSU has sparked considerable controversy, including strikes and threats of strikes from public sector workers. They have protested against what they perceive as salary cuts, delays, and deteriorating working conditions since the reform's introduction.

President Filipe Nyusi, speaking in parliament last August, defended the TSU, asserting that it has helped reduce salary discrepancies within the public sector. Yet, the ongoing unrest suggests that the reform has left many public employees dissatisfied.

This wage reform, while aiming to streamline and equalize pay, has thus far revealed the complexities of public sector wage management and the delicate balance between fiscal responsibility and employee satisfaction.