It is time to conclude reform of the labour law!

There has been a growing commitment among tripartite partners in Zimbabwe to apply international labour standards during the on-going process of labour law reform. This process is benefitting from technical and financial support from the ILO. A consensus building meeting on labour law reform agreed on the amendments to the Labour Act.

News | 21 October 2019
Contact(s): ILO Harare Office Tel +2634369806-12 Email: harare@lo.org
(ILO News, Harare) The tripartite partners in Zimbabwe have been working on amending labour laws over the last ten years with the intention of ensuring that they remain relevant to labour market developments. The amendments have also benefitted from the on-going Constitution (2013) alignment process of various laws the country is undertaking and the desire to strengthen application of international labour standards.

The last amendments to the Labour Act were in July 2015.

In late 2016, the tripartite partners agreed to further improve the country’s labour laws and agreed on a set of principles for the reforms. Since then, there have been ongoing tripartite consultations and the Attorney General’s Office has drafted an Amendment Bill to reflect the proposed changes.

Recently, the Government of Zimbabwe convened a tripartite consensus building workshop to enable all stakeholders to provide input to the draft Labour Amendment Bill developed by the Attorney General’s Office.

Chief Director in the Ministry of Public Service Labour and Social Welfare, Mr. C Matorera, speaking on behalf of the Permanent Secretary said:
“As the Government of Zimbabwe, we are committed. It is time to speedily conclude the labour law reform processes as a means to promote decent work and stimulate economic growth”.

Senior Vice President of Employers Confederation of Zimbabwe, Mr D Mbauya, warned the tripartite partners that “after the enactment of the Tripartite Negotiating Forum Act, the process to reform the labour laws will be a test for social dialogue and tripartism in Zimbabwe. It is our hope that the process will be concluded, in the spirit of mutual gains and good faith”.

The ZCTU’s Secretary General, Mr. Japhet Moyo expressed the hope of workers that the processes of labour law reforms would be concluded, as they have been outstanding for over a decade. He also expressed the hope of workers that government’s calls for reforms would be backed by more action. Mr Moyo also called for greater trust in dialogue among the tripartite partners.

Speaking at the same event, the ILO Director, Ms. Hopolang Phororo, commended the tripartite partners for their efforts to reach consensus. She expressed the ILO’s hope that through social dialogue, the labour law reform process would provide a speedy and broadly accepted outcome.

At the end of the two-day meeting, there was consensus on the proposed amendment Bill. The Attorney General’s Office will proceed to implement the agreed changes before the document is tabled for further review by the Cabinet Committee on Legislation.