THE Employers Confederation of Zimbabwe (Emcoz) has commended interventions by the International Labour Organisation (ILO), which resulted in the country’s social dialogue platform agreeing to repeal some sections of the Labour Act that restricted collective bargaining.
BY BUSINESS REPORTER
In his interventions in the committee on the application of standards, Emcoz president, Joe Kahwema said the national social dialogue, the Tripartite Negotiating Forum (TNF) had agreed to repeal section 79(2)(b) and (c) of the Labour Act, which says public authorities may refuse to register a collective agreement if it is contrary to “public interest”.
“Employers are happy to confirm, that the Tripartite Negotiating Forum, which is the National Social dialogue platform in Zimbabwe, has agreed to repeal section 79(2)(b) and (c) of the Labour Act as requested by this august committee,” he said.
Government had been advised to respect Section 65 of the new Constitution, which guarantees collective bargaining rights for all employees.
Commenting on the ILO programme implementation 2014-2015 report and the End to Poverty Initiative — The ILO and the 2030 Agenda from a Zimbabwe perspective, Kahwema said the organisation has continued to strengthen government, employers and workers’ roles to meet contemporary challenges in and to bring the world back on a sustainable path of equitable growth and development.
“We urge the committee to note and commend the progress that Zimbabwe has made to comply with the recommendations of the committee and the commission,” he said.
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Kahwema said Zimbabwe’s economy was in a sensitive state and has faced more than its fair share of challenges in trying to get back to a sustainable path of equitable growth and development, but things were not, as bad as they would have been had ILO not been patient in assisting stakeholders in the country to find each other.
“Progress was made globally, regionally and at the country level on enhancing policy coherence and convergence on issues central to the ILO mandate, through tangible co-operation with the United Nations and its entities, the G20, the International Monetary Fund, the World Bank and regional organisations, including development banks and economic commissions. The ILO contributed strongly to the adoption of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development in general, and Sustainable Development Goal 8 in particular,” he said.
Kahwema said employment was a critical issue in Zimbabwe, making ILO able to apply aspects of the end to poverty initiative through its intervention in the Zimbabwe Decent Work Country Programme.
According to ILO, decent work involves opportunities for work that is productive and delivers a fair income, security at the workplace, and social protection for families, better prospects for personal development and social integration, freedom for people to express their concerns, organise and participate in the decisions that affect their lives and provide equality of opportunity and treatment for all women and men.
