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

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

The situation of commercial farm workers after land reform in Zimbabwe‘. Harare: Farm Community Trust of Zimbabwe

I would like to thank many individuals and organisations who assisted during this study. They are too numerous to mention, but I am profoundly grateful to all of them. Godfrey Magaramombe and Grace Buhera of the Farm Community Trust of Zimbabwe (FCTZ) were extremely supportive at every stage of the research. The staff at the Commercial Farmers ’ Union (CFU), the National Employment Council for the Agricultural Industry and the General Agricultural and Plantation Workers ’ Union of Zimbabwe (GAPWUZ), and officials from government departments and local authorities were also helpful. The research assistants, team leaders and drivers were tireless in their efforts during the difficult phase of gathering field data. Many thanks, too, to the respondents — more than 1,000 of them — who patiently answered the questions put to them. I hope that their voices will be heard through this report. A number of people provided comments on the first draft: for this I am grateful to Steve Kibble, Robin Palmer, Blair Rutherford and, for their kind assistance, to Kaori Izumi, Brian Raftopoulos and Lynn Walker

Restructuring or de-industrializing? : Zimbabwe's textile and metal industries under structural adjustment

This report is a contribution to the growing literature on the impact of structural adjustment on the manufacturing sector in Africa and it has the distinction of being one of the first longitudinal surveys assessing the experience of Zimbabwean manufacturers under the country's economic structural adjustment programme (ESAP) from 1990 to 1995. It documents the detailed experiences of selected textile and metal firms under ESAP and concludes that the adjustment framework has caused deindustrialization. ESAP also took a heavy toll on the living and working conditions of manufacturing sector workers. The report makes a strong case for the abandonment of the orthodox structural adjustment framework of industrial restructuring and the pursuit of an alternative approach that is more favourable to the local accumulation of capital.CONTENTS -- Chapter 1: The Manufacturing Sector in Zimbabwe: An Overview -- Chapter 2: Restructuring in the Textile and Metal Industries -- Chapter 3: Change and Conflict in Labour Relations -- Chapter 4: Income Patterns, Living Standard and Coping Strategies -- Chapter 5: Conclusion and Post-Scrip