Labour Law Reforms, Termination of Employment, Productivity and Investment, Flexibility, Social Dialogue and the Economy
21 August 2015
Harare: ILO Assistant Director-General and Regional Director for Africa meets the Minister of Public Service, Labour and social partners.
ILO Assistant Director-General and Regional Director for Africa, Mr. Aeneas Chapinga Chuma accompanied by the Director of the ILO Country Office for Zimbabwe, Ms. Hopolang Phororo and Senior Specialists for Workers and Employers; in Ms. Inviolata Chinyangarara and Ms. Rose Anang respectively, has held separate meetings with the Minister of Public Service, Labour and Social Welfare, Honourable Senator Prisca Mupfumira and the leadership and representatives of the Employers and Workers Organisations in Zimbabwe.
The meetings provided the opportunity for the ILO tripartite partners to share their views on the recent developments in labour relations in Zimbabwe. Mr Chuma was appraised on progress made to date in reforming the labour laws primarily to stem the wave of terminations of employment on notice. To date, an estimated 20,000 plus workers have had their employment terminated on notice with employers following the Supreme Court Judgement of 17 July 2015.
The Regional Director was informed by the Minister, that the labour legislation would still be open to further amendments to fully align it to the Constitution and ZIM-ASSET objectives and address broader labour market governance issues. The Workers have broadly welcomed the amendments as fairly progressive in as far as they will restore the rights of workers to severance payments and protection against unfair dismissals. The Workers however, also contend that more still needs to be done particularly to strengthen provisions on collective bargaining, freedom of association, the right to strike and maternity protection in line with international labour standards and the national Constitution.
On the other hand, Employers have noted that the amendments could make the country unattractive for foreign and domestic investment; and lead to closure of companies, and further loss of jobs and reduced income to the fiscus. The Employers expressed their willingness to engage in further dialogue to find mutually gainful outcomes on the challenges in the labour market and the economy at large.
In his discussions with the Minister and social partners, Mr. Chuma acknowledged and commended the efforts to continue the broader labour law reforms through dialogue and encouraged the social partners to effectively engage government in the process. The Regional Director emphasized the need for partners to continue and broaden the dialogue to include consultations at bi-partite and national level on issues of wages, productivity, investment and growing the economy; focusing on creating more decent jobs. This could ‘lay the foundation for a social contract’ he said.
The urgency of job creation is about the future of the country. Today, many people are losing their jobs or are already unemployed or are engaged in vulnerable employment in the informal economy with little or no social protection. An economy that loses jobs does not grow. Economic policies should lead to the creation and expansion of jobs and livelihoods, particularly for young people. Socially, if people have gainful employment or livelihoods, they can earn the income that enable them to escape poverty and to fulfil their basic human needs such as food, healthcare and shelter.
The Regional Director also reiterated the need to progressively strengthen labour market governance and social dialogue through an effectively functioning Tripartite Negotiating Forum (TNF). The TNF can be the bedrock to facilitate effective dialogue for the establishment and strengthening of institutions, such as the National Productivity Institute, National Employment Councils and implementation of the principles of the Kadoma Declaration on a shared national socio-economic vision.
He expressed ILO’s readiness to provide technical assistance through sharing international good practices on Labour Law Reform processes in line with international labour standards and the comments of the ILO Supervisory Bodies. The ILO is also ready to support capacity building initiatives for the tripartite partners to constructively engage their constituents in the reform process.
For more detailed information, please contact:
ILO Country Office for Zimbabwe
Mr Adolphus Chinomwe, Senior Programme Officer
+263772129210-3 or [email protected]
ILO Assistant Director-General and Regional Director for Africa, Mr. Aeneas Chapinga Chuma accompanied by the Director of the ILO Country Office for Zimbabwe, Ms. Hopolang Phororo and Senior Specialists for Workers and Employers; in Ms. Inviolata Chinyangarara and Ms. Rose Anang respectively, has held separate meetings with the Minister of Public Service, Labour and Social Welfare, Honourable Senator Prisca Mupfumira and the leadership and representatives of the Employers and Workers Organisations in Zimbabwe.
The meetings provided the opportunity for the ILO tripartite partners to share their views on the recent developments in labour relations in Zimbabwe. Mr Chuma was appraised on progress made to date in reforming the labour laws primarily to stem the wave of terminations of employment on notice. To date, an estimated 20,000 plus workers have had their employment terminated on notice with employers following the Supreme Court Judgement of 17 July 2015.
The Regional Director was informed by the Minister, that the labour legislation would still be open to further amendments to fully align it to the Constitution and ZIM-ASSET objectives and address broader labour market governance issues. The Workers have broadly welcomed the amendments as fairly progressive in as far as they will restore the rights of workers to severance payments and protection against unfair dismissals. The Workers however, also contend that more still needs to be done particularly to strengthen provisions on collective bargaining, freedom of association, the right to strike and maternity protection in line with international labour standards and the national Constitution.
On the other hand, Employers have noted that the amendments could make the country unattractive for foreign and domestic investment; and lead to closure of companies, and further loss of jobs and reduced income to the fiscus. The Employers expressed their willingness to engage in further dialogue to find mutually gainful outcomes on the challenges in the labour market and the economy at large.
In his discussions with the Minister and social partners, Mr. Chuma acknowledged and commended the efforts to continue the broader labour law reforms through dialogue and encouraged the social partners to effectively engage government in the process. The Regional Director emphasized the need for partners to continue and broaden the dialogue to include consultations at bi-partite and national level on issues of wages, productivity, investment and growing the economy; focusing on creating more decent jobs. This could ‘lay the foundation for a social contract’ he said.
The urgency of job creation is about the future of the country. Today, many people are losing their jobs or are already unemployed or are engaged in vulnerable employment in the informal economy with little or no social protection. An economy that loses jobs does not grow. Economic policies should lead to the creation and expansion of jobs and livelihoods, particularly for young people. Socially, if people have gainful employment or livelihoods, they can earn the income that enable them to escape poverty and to fulfil their basic human needs such as food, healthcare and shelter.
The Regional Director also reiterated the need to progressively strengthen labour market governance and social dialogue through an effectively functioning Tripartite Negotiating Forum (TNF). The TNF can be the bedrock to facilitate effective dialogue for the establishment and strengthening of institutions, such as the National Productivity Institute, National Employment Councils and implementation of the principles of the Kadoma Declaration on a shared national socio-economic vision.
He expressed ILO’s readiness to provide technical assistance through sharing international good practices on Labour Law Reform processes in line with international labour standards and the comments of the ILO Supervisory Bodies. The ILO is also ready to support capacity building initiatives for the tripartite partners to constructively engage their constituents in the reform process.
For more detailed information, please contact:
ILO Country Office for Zimbabwe
Mr Adolphus Chinomwe, Senior Programme Officer
+263772129210-3 or [email protected]