JUSTICE, Legal and Parliamentary Affairs minister Emmerson Mnangagwa yesterday said his ministry was consulting other key stakeholders with a view to reform labour laws so that they are in conformity with international labour standards and the new Constitution.
OBEY MANAYITI
In a speech read on his behalf during a high-level dialogue organised by the Ministry of Public Service, Labour and Social Welfare in partnership with the International Labour Organisation in Mutare, Mnangagwa said the country attached great importance to human rights at workplaces.
“There are on-going consultations with social partners in the context of the labour law reform that is meant to ensure that our labour legislation takes into account the new Constitutional provisions and compliance with the international instruments that we have ratified as a country,” Mnangagwa said.
“This demonstrates the political will of the government of Zimbabwe in fulfilling the objectives that it set out to achieve through the ratification of ILO (International Labour Organisations) instruments,” he said.
The new Constitution recognises workers’ rights to engage in collective bargaining, collective job action and the right to safe and fair labour standards.
Mnangagwa said his ministry appreciated the importance of independent commissions such as the Zimbabwe Human Rights Commission in ensuring that labour rights are realised in practice.
Speaking at the same occasion, ILO director Alphonse Tabi-abodo applauded the government for upholding international labour standards particularly freedom of association and collective bargaining.
