Cabinet has approved the Labour Amendment Bill which among other things provides for the rights to fair and safe labour practices and standards at workplaces.
The Bill aligns the Labour Amendment Act to Section 65 of the Constitution of Zimbabwe Amendment (No. 20) Act 2013, and to the ratified International Labour Organisation (ILO) Conventions.
In a post Cabinet briefing on Tuesday, Information, Publicity and Broadcasting Services Minister Monica Mutsvangwa said:
Cabinet considered and approved the Labour Amendment Bill which was presented by the Attorney-General on behalf of the Chairman of the Cabinet Committee on Legislation. The amendments also make provision for the promotion of the ease of doing business in the labour market through the streamlining of the labour dispute settlement and retrenchment processes.
The Bill also takes care of emerging issues in the world of work such as labour broking, violence and harassment at the workplace and emerging forms of employment relationships with a view to closing the lacuna in the existing legislation thus entrenching fair labour standards contemplated in section 65 of the Constitution. Provisions are also made to deal with “gender-based violence” and other cases of violence and harassment at the workplace.
Minister Mutsvangwa said Clause 3 of the Bill outlines the types of work which shall not be defined as forced labour and these include any work required from any person convicted of an offence(s).
The Bill also seeks to enhance the rights of female employees as stated in Section 65(7) of the Constitution.