Zimbabwe tripartite partners agree on priorities for 2020
Senior leaders from the Government; Workers’ and Employers’ Organizations met for a two-day meeting and agreed on the priority areas of action to advance the decent work agenda in 2020.
24 February 2020
(ILO News, Harare) The year 2020 is significant for labour market actors in Zimbabwe. It follows a series of activities to mark the ILO Centenary in 2019, which culminated in the adoption of the Centenary Declaration in Geneva, Switzerland in June 2019 and the Abidjan Declaration in Abidjan, Côte d'Ivoire in December 2019. These landmark tripartite declarations call for a transformative process to meet the challenges of inequality, unemployment and under-employment, youth employment, child and forced labour, migration, social protection and climate change.
All these processes are happening in the context of a global drive to implement the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). Development players are now looking to accelerate the implementation of programmes to achieve the goals as only a decade remains.
At the national level, the Government has signalled that the period of austerity is over and it will now be focusing on jobs and productivity. The law providing for the institutional framework for social dialogue also came into effect in 2019 under the Tripartite Negotiating Forum (TNF). It is also widely anticipated that a new national development framework will be developed in 2020.
Noting the opportunities that the new year presents, the tripartite partners – Ministry of Public Service Labour and Social Welfare; Employers Confederation of Zimbabwe; Zimbabwe Congress of Trade Unions and the Zimbabwe Federation of Trade Unions met in Victoria Falls Zimbabwe on 28 – 29 January 2020 for a planning meeting. Considering its significance, the Ministry of Finance and the Office of the UN Resident Coordinator also participated in the 2-day meeting.
The objective of this ILO supported meeting was to provide a platform for tripartite partners to reflect on the current labour market issues; identify key priority areas for interventions that will make the most significant change in the world of work; and to reach consensus steps to implement the priority areas of work.
In his opening remarks at the meeting, the Minister of Public Service Labour and Social Welfare, Hon Paul Mavhima, submitted that the Ministry is prioritising social dialogue and tripartism in 2020 with the aim of operationalising the TNF, as well as moving towards a social contract. He expressed Government’s hope that all parties will engage in dialogue to meet the current economic challenges.
The United Nations Resident Coordinator, Ms. Maria Ribeiro, provided an update on the ongoing UN Reforms. She noted the reforms provide an opportunity for social partners to play a more active role in shaping Zimbabwe’s development programmes and policies.
The Secretary Generals for ZCTU and ZFTU, called for urgent steps to address the plight of workers in Zimbabwe. The most pressing issue for workers was the erosion of salaries due to hyperinflation. Workers expressed their hope that through the TNF a solution could be found soon. Representatives of business echoed the same sentiment and reiterated the call to dialogue until a sustainable solution is reached.
The ILO Director, Ms. Hopolang Phororo, said, “the need to work more and strongly together is a must, if we are going to weather the transformative change, driven by technological innovations, demographic shifts, climate change and globalization”. She called on all parties to rely on tripartism and dialogue to ensure a better future for all Zimbabweans.
At the end of the meeting participants noted that it had been useful in ensuring an improved understanding of the key factors shaping the labour market and the possible actions to respond to these realities. There was consensus on the main areas of focus in 2020. It was agreed that focus should be on getting the TNF to work better, by ensuring regular discussions and by sticking to the agreed outcomes. The other areas of focus agreed on are to ensure the upcoming National Development Plan mainstreams employment and decent work. Lastly, the meeting agreed to take steps to improve the ratification and application of labour standards.
All these processes are happening in the context of a global drive to implement the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). Development players are now looking to accelerate the implementation of programmes to achieve the goals as only a decade remains.
At the national level, the Government has signalled that the period of austerity is over and it will now be focusing on jobs and productivity. The law providing for the institutional framework for social dialogue also came into effect in 2019 under the Tripartite Negotiating Forum (TNF). It is also widely anticipated that a new national development framework will be developed in 2020.
Noting the opportunities that the new year presents, the tripartite partners – Ministry of Public Service Labour and Social Welfare; Employers Confederation of Zimbabwe; Zimbabwe Congress of Trade Unions and the Zimbabwe Federation of Trade Unions met in Victoria Falls Zimbabwe on 28 – 29 January 2020 for a planning meeting. Considering its significance, the Ministry of Finance and the Office of the UN Resident Coordinator also participated in the 2-day meeting.
The objective of this ILO supported meeting was to provide a platform for tripartite partners to reflect on the current labour market issues; identify key priority areas for interventions that will make the most significant change in the world of work; and to reach consensus steps to implement the priority areas of work.
In his opening remarks at the meeting, the Minister of Public Service Labour and Social Welfare, Hon Paul Mavhima, submitted that the Ministry is prioritising social dialogue and tripartism in 2020 with the aim of operationalising the TNF, as well as moving towards a social contract. He expressed Government’s hope that all parties will engage in dialogue to meet the current economic challenges.
The United Nations Resident Coordinator, Ms. Maria Ribeiro, provided an update on the ongoing UN Reforms. She noted the reforms provide an opportunity for social partners to play a more active role in shaping Zimbabwe’s development programmes and policies.
The Secretary Generals for ZCTU and ZFTU, called for urgent steps to address the plight of workers in Zimbabwe. The most pressing issue for workers was the erosion of salaries due to hyperinflation. Workers expressed their hope that through the TNF a solution could be found soon. Representatives of business echoed the same sentiment and reiterated the call to dialogue until a sustainable solution is reached.
The ILO Director, Ms. Hopolang Phororo, said, “the need to work more and strongly together is a must, if we are going to weather the transformative change, driven by technological innovations, demographic shifts, climate change and globalization”. She called on all parties to rely on tripartism and dialogue to ensure a better future for all Zimbabweans.
At the end of the meeting participants noted that it had been useful in ensuring an improved understanding of the key factors shaping the labour market and the possible actions to respond to these realities. There was consensus on the main areas of focus in 2020. It was agreed that focus should be on getting the TNF to work better, by ensuring regular discussions and by sticking to the agreed outcomes. The other areas of focus agreed on are to ensure the upcoming National Development Plan mainstreams employment and decent work. Lastly, the meeting agreed to take steps to improve the ratification and application of labour standards.