GOVERNMENT is planning to despatch a 30-member delegation to attend next month’s International Labour Organisation (ILO) conference in Geneva, Switzerland, to defend its failure to ratify Convention 105, which prohibits use of forced labour.
by XOLISANI NCUBE
The team, which comprises of business and labour activists, will be led by Labour and Social Welfare minister Priscah Mupfumira.
Other top officials would include Public Service Commission chairperson Mariyawanda Nzuwah, Deputy Chief Secretary in the Office of the President and Cabinet Christian Katsade, National Social Security Authority (NSSA)board chairperson Robin Vela and NSSA general manager Elizabeth Chitiga.
Zimbabwe is among 40 countries that have refused to ratify Convention 105, which prohibits forced labour, among other contentious issues. The convention stipulates that countries should work towards eliminating forced labour in line with the ILO statutes.
The chief executive officer of the Employers’ Confederation of Zimbabwe, John Mufukare, the organisation’s president Josphat Kahwema and his deputy Mathew Chimbganda will be representing employers.
The workers’ team will be led by Zimbabwe Congress of Trade Unions president Peter Mutasa, who will be joined by his secretary-general Japhet Moyo and legal adviser Zakeyo Mtimtema.
The Zimbabwean team will be joined by the permanent representative to Geneva ambassador Taonga Mushayavanhu and counsellor Poem Mudyawabikwa.
- 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
Forced labour, according to Convention 105, refers to situations in which persons are coerced to work through the use of violence or intimidation or by more subtle means such as accumulated debt, retention of identity papers or threats of denunciation to immigration authorities.
The ILO Convention enjoins State parties to put laws that protect workers from exploitative work and so far, Zimbabwe has to domesticate the treaty by making laws that support the treaty.
Internationally, almost 21 million people are victims of forced labour with 11,4 million being women and girls and 9,5 million men and boys.
