THE Medical and Allied Trade Workers Union of Zimbabwe (MATWUZ) has trained health workers' representatives on labour rights, grievance procedures and collective bargaining as part of efforts to strengthen workplace representation.
The union held a workers' committee seminar in Harare on Saturday, bringing together representatives from various healthcare institutions to equip them with skills to effectively represent employees and resolve workplace disputes in line with Zimbabwe's Labour Act.
Speaking on the sidelines of the seminar, MATWUZ secretary-general Darlington Chitedega said the training formed part of the union's statutory obligation to educate members on their rights and responsibilities.
"As a trade union, we are mandated, in terms of the Labour Act, to upskill and educate our members on their duties, whether they are workers' committee representatives or individual employees," Chitedega said.
Participants were trained on grievance handling procedures, collective bargaining agreements and negotiations on minimum working conditions at both institutional and national levels.
"This is the reason we have decided to hold this seminar for our members from various institutions within the medical fraternity," he said.
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"We felt it was important to conduct this training to equip our members to deal with the challenges they may encounter."
Chitedega said MATWUZ planned to take the programme to other parts of the country, with another training session expected before the end of the year.
"We do not want this to be only a Harare initiative. We want it to include different regions and members from various institutions," he said, adding that Bulawayo was one of the proposed venues for the next seminar.
Participants described the workshop as a valuable opportunity to deepen their understanding of labour legislation and workplace procedures.
"It is every worker's right to understand what the Labour Act is about," works council representative Melisa Kutoka said.
She said employees needed to be familiar with grievance procedures and the protections provided by law so they could confidently address workplace issues and avoid being unfairly treated.
Another participant, workers' committee representative Girdlestone Mutambara, said one of the biggest lessons from the seminar was that workers had enforceable rights and that employers were obliged to honour agreements reached through collective bargaining.
He, however, argued that the Labour Act appeared to differentiate between employer and employee complaints by classifying one as a disciplinary matter and the other as a grievance, saying the distinction could warrant legislative review.
Mutambara also noted that workplace benefits and conditions incorporated into collective bargaining agreements became enforceable rights.
"The employer cannot do things willy-nilly," he said, adding that once provisions were incorporated into a collective bargaining agreement, they ceased to be matters of interest and became binding on both parties.