Labour legislation in Zimbabwe: historical and contemporary perspectives

The relationship between the legal and social structures which underpin social relations of production is potentially an area of fruitful inquiry. It is the intention of this paper to examine the basis of the Industrial Conciliation Act promulgated in 1934 and subsequently amended in 1960 and labour legislation that was enacted at independence in 1980 and 1981 and later incorporated into the comprehensive Labour Relations Bill of 1985. It is hoped that a critical evaluation of the material basis of this legislation, its conjunctural significance and its expression of social contradictions will assist in our understanding of its importance and limitations. This exercise will be attempted in relation to the analysis of the evolution of the regulatory controls over trade unions, the structure of the dispute settlement machinery and the heated public and parliamentary debate on the merits and demerits of the Labour Relations Bill which now exists as a fully fledged Labour Relations Act (LRA)

State-civil society inter-action in policy making: a manual

A research paper on how civil society can collaborate with the government in policy making.'Civil society' has become one of the most fashionable terms our times. There are many civil soviet} organisations (CSOs) which ha\e sprung up in Southern Africa in the past two decades. No discussion about politics, democracy and development is complete without reference to the pivotal role and contribution of CSOs. Newspapers, magazines, text-books and talk-shows refer to civil soviet} and its Ivnch-pin role, indeed, it is often assumed that ever}bod} knows what 'civil soviet} 'is. and its contribution in the broader soviet}. This manual is on ' civil soviet} ’ but it does not not assume that everybody has extensive knowledge about what it is: what it consists of and how it relates to the state. The manual seeks to explain in basic terms the nature of the relationship between civil soviet} and state institutions, a relationship which historical!} has been characterised by accommodation, suspicion and conflict. It begins b} providing working definitions of the key concepts of civil soviet} and state, and a framework through which these two sets of institutions could be understood better

Child labour in hazardous employment: the case of Zimbabwe

The study examines the extent and implications of child labour in hazardous employment in contemporary Zimbabwe. It identifies the socio-economic determinants which compel children under 16 to enter employment in order to earn an income for themselves or to supplement marginal family earnings. This study, therefore, stresses the causal link between these determinants and the specific forms which child labour assumes in several sectors.1 It then examines the nature and magnitude of the hazards to their health, safety and morals and argues these should be explained in the context of the social division of labour within the conjunctural capitalist setting of Zimbabwe. The study also focuses attention on attempts to address the problem of the hazardous working conditions for child workers and marginalized children or the so-called "street children." It does so by evaluating Government policy but especially the limitations of the existing legislation with respect to child workers. The ambiguity over their rights to minimum wages, protective clothing and enforcement of contracts vis-a-vis the employer is shown to affect the bargaining leverage of child workers. The study then discusses some attempts that could go some way to ameliorate the dangerous conditions under which they work. A programme to reintegrate marginalized, and often homeless, children is assessed and shown to offer an alternative but more innovative approach to the problem of the marginalized children or "street children".The broad analytical framework of this study is premised on the International Labour Organization (ILO) programme on the abolition of child labour in hazardous employment (ILO, 1989). The objective of this programme is to draw up a report on the design and implementation of policies and programmes for the elimination of child labour in hazardous activities {Ibid.). This report, which would in turn draw upon data from country case studies, will contain information "on international labour standards, a comparative review of national legislation and regulations, examples of successful local efforts and national policies and programmes, and suggestions on ways of detecting and eliminating child labour in hazardous and unsafe activities" (Ibid.).,International Labour Organisation (ILO), Geneva,Switzerland

The protection of security of employment: the Zimbabwe experience

This paper is a contribution to the important discussion and analysis of the crucial question of security of employment and its safeguards in contemporary Zimbabwe. In the first part, the framework of the ensuing discussion and analysis is set out; the latter parts focus on the Zimbabwean experience with regard to the underlying causes and effects of dismissals and retrenchments. Government legislation pertaining to job security and procedural issues surrounding dismissals, retrenchment and reinstatement of workers are then examined at some length in relation to problems arising from its implementation. Specific experiences in this respect in mining, manufacturing and agricultural industries are discussed. In the concluding remarks, the critical importance of safeguarding employment security particularly in a society which espouses a socialist orientation is reiterated

Effect of co-location in the Johannesburg Securities Exchange (JSE)

Thesis (M.M.(Finance & Investment)--University of the Witwatersrand, Faculty of Commerce, Law and Management, Wits Business School, 2016Co-location on the JSE took place on the 14th of May 2014. This dissertation looks at the impact this event has had on the market. In order to measure the effects of colocation, market quality factors are examined before and after the event to see whether there were any significant changes. A regression is then undertaken to see the correlation between co-location, liquidity and volatility. Our results suggest that colocation benefits market liquidity but we are unable to assess the relationship with volatility. This means that the growing liquidity in the market can be used to attract more institutions and firms wishing to run trading algorithms and strategies. Trades originally meant for dark pools can be now traded on the JSE co-location servers. By moving trades from dark pools to co-location servers at the JSE and encouraging institutions to use these facilities, transparency can be increased. Exchanges should implement kill switches if it is apparent that they are being impaired or flooded with erroneous orders. The deployment of kill switches, circuit breakers and other system compliance will improve investor confidence and market stability. Subsequent research can lead to better understanding by investigating the correlation between colocation and volatility.MT 201

The limits of transnational solidarity: the Congress of South African Trade Unions and the Swaziland and Zimbabwean crises

The Congress of South African Trade Unions (COSATU), the main union federation in South Africa, was instrumental in ending apartheid. This paper evaluates COSATU's post-apartheid role in working for democracy elsewhere in Southern Africa through deepening transnational solidarity, focusing on its role in Zimbabwe and Swaziland. Although the federation successfully mobilised trade union members to oppose the contravention of human and labor rights, its ability to affect lasting change was limited by contradictory messages and actions by the South African government, the dualistic nature of institutional formation in these countries, strategic miscalculations and structural limitations on union power

Whither Zimbabwe ? Crisis and Democratisation

This article appeared in the review of African Political Economy Journal number 91 of 2002 on page 13-20