BY XOLISANI NCUBE
Zimbabwe is set to appear before an International Labour Organisation (ILO) panel in Geneva, Switzerland, today amid allegations that the State was failing to protect civil servants as demanded by Convention 87.
Zimbabwe Teachers’ Association (Zimta) chief executive officer Sifiso Ndlovu confirmed that a delegation representing civil servants was in Geneva and would be appearing before the ILO to articulate challenges faced by public workers.
“The key issue which is before the ILO is the violation of Convention 87 that deals with the rights of civil servants. These rights include the right to collective bargaining, the right to organise, (and Zimbabwe) ratified and domesticated this convention,” Ndlovu said.
The convention in turn expects public workers to provide high-quality services to their citizens, while the government has an obligation to provide decent work for its workers.
“The optimal way to achieve sustainable national development and poverty alleviation is to promote good governance and transparency through effective social dialogue in the public service,” states the convention.
The current economic crisis has affected both government and its workers in several ways. The ILO has developed tools to assist governments in addressing these issues.
The convention also deals with the freedom of association and protection of the right to organise.
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The ILO states that national laws or regulations should be set up to determine how the guarantees provided for in Convention 98 apply to the armed forces and the police, and may also exclude high-level government employees whose functions are normally considered as policy-making or managerial or employees whose duties are of a highly-confidential nature, from the protection of Convention 151.
“We want the State to be held to account to this convention so that collective bargaining is real and we enjoy other benefits,” Ndlovu said.
Labour and Public Service minister Sekai Nzenza could not be reached for comment as she was said to be already in Geneva for the ILO conference where she is heading the Zimbabwean delegation.
