THE government will introduce a new Bill early next year to harmonise the country’s labour laws, Public Service, Labour and Social Welfare deputy minister Tongai Muzenda said last Friday.
MTHANDAZO NYONI OWN CORRESPONDENT
Muzenda told the Institute of People Management of Zimbabwe 2015 labour briefing in Bulawayo that consultations with relevant stakeholders had been completed and the Bill was now awaiting Cabinet approval.
“The economy did not perform as expected in 2014. Job actions increased. Companies have been closing month after month and workers are failing to get salaries,” he said.
“The harmonisation of the labour laws and the Constitution has been finalised and now we are at the Cabinet stage.
“The Bill is expected to be passed in January or February next year.”
However, proposed reforms have been met with stiff resistance from labour with the Zimbabwe Congress of Trade Unions (ZCTU) accusing the government of perpetuating labour casualisation.
“Flexibility leaves workers and communities in unstable and insecure situations, disrupting their life planning options,” ZCTU president George Nkiwane said.
- Chamisa under fire over US$120K donation
- Mavhunga puts DeMbare into Chibuku quarterfinals
- Pension funds bet on Cabora Bassa oilfields
- Councils defy govt fire tender directive
Keep Reading
“More importantly, precarious workers are found to suffer a higher rate of occupational safety and health issues.”
He said due to labour market flexibility, temporary workers in particular found themselves unable to plan to get married, have children, or buy homes because of uncertainty over their contracts, and low wages.
“Since there are different ways of combining flexibility and security, it is equally important to embrace high public expenditure on social services –protection floors, flexibility for enterprises, labour market, security for workers and an egalitarian framework of values in which all actors have both rights and responsibilities,” Nkiwane added.
“There is need to balance between employment protection provided at the level of the firm and social protection and income security provided at societal level.”
