eBusiness Weekly
Kudzanai Sharara
This week, Zimbabwe joined the rest of the world in commemorating International Workers’ Day amid hope and expectations that the “Zimbabwe is Open for Business” mantra will help create employment for millions of Zimbabweans who are relying on menial jobs — long after they left school or got retrenched while they were still in their prime.
Since assuming office, President Emmerson Mnangagwa has emphasised the need to open the country for business and true to his word, action on the ground has proved that he means business.
His Government has been on the front foot, re-engaging the international community and investors, and by the end of April, the President was talking of investment commitments worth $11 billion. We have also seen big names and international companies such as General Electric expressing interest in the country — a good sign — as investment means job creation.
But as much as job creation is what most people are looking forward to, they should not come at the expense of workers’ rights.
There is need to create a balance between job creation and better working conditions and sustainable wages for both the employer and the employee.
This is where, probably, Government has not done much to make sure that there is a shared vision between the tripartite made up of labour, business and Government.
While Government has put shoulder to the wheel in its efforts to revive the economy, there is need to realise that it cannot go it alone but needs both labour and business.
Engagement with business, both local and foreign has been quite noticeable with Government making every effort to address business concerns and pushing the Zimbabwe is Open for Business mantra at the numerous conferences that have been held in the last four months. We have seen policies that speak to investors’ needs being revised. The Indigenisation Laws — for long a thorn to the investment community — has since been revised. Special Economic Zones have also made strides in crafting labour laws that are meant to create a “conducive” operating environment for business.
But all this has been done without the input from labour. If there are any engagements that have taken place between Government and labour, then they have not spilled into the public domain like other engagements have done. Labour issues that have spilled into the public domain have been to a larger extent negative.
Over the past few weeks we have seen labour flexing its muscle, starting with the doctor’s strike, then the nurses strike as well as the impending strike by teachers. We have also seen the “ZUVA ghost” haunting the labour market with the latest ruling by Chief Justice Luke Malaba, with concurrence of eight other judges of the Constitutional Court, ruling that employers must compensate workers fired in terms of Section 12C of the Labour Act. Other labour related issues that have dominated media space include the alleged looting at NSSA, an organisation that takes care of the nation’s statutory pensions. A looted NSSA means destitution to former workers, the pensioners.
Government is also currently going through amendments of the Labour Act as well the Public Service Act. Cabinet has already approved principles on the amendment of the Public Service Act, amid plans to allow civil servants to engage in collective bargaining as enshrined in the Constitution.
Hopefully these amendments will result in a civil servant who is happy with the working conditions and remunerations. A happy civil servant is probably closer to executing and facilitating pathways to investment in line with the Zimbabwe is open for business mantra, than a disgruntled one.
Workers in the private sector are however far from accepting and executing pathways to investment with labour body, the Zimbabwe Congress of Trade Union (ZCTU), already crying foul that there has not been any engagement with government in its efforts to open up the economy for business. While Zimbabwe boasts itself as having a hard-working and educated workforce, this will come to nothing if that workforce is disgruntled.
According to ZCTU president, Peter Mutasa, labour has been left out of the re-engagement processes. While Government has been on an aggressive drive to lure investors, workers seem left out, if anything, they have actually been on the receiving end.
The nurses strike seem to have been treated with heavy handedness with little room for negotiation and bargaining as enshrined in the country’s constitution.
This seems to be against section 65 of the Constitution which talks of labour rights. Section 65 (3) says “except for members of the security services, every employee has the right to participate in collective job action, including the right to strike, sit in, withdraw their labour and to take other similar concerted action, but a law may restrict the exercise of this right in order to maintain essential services.”
While Government has been telling the world that Zimbabwe is open for business, labour believes that not much has been done to make sure that the worker is ready to provide services to business.
According to Mutasa, Government is making unilateral decisions in matters that will end up being derailed if labour is disgruntled.
Mutasa told Business Weekly that in terms of section 13 of the Constitution, Government is obliged to consult its citizens and other various stakeholders before formulating policy.
Section 13 (1) of the Constitution says the State and all institutions and agencies of government at every level must endeavour to facilitate rapid and equitable development. It says Government must take measures among other things to foster the development of industrial and commercial enterprises in order to empower Zimbabwean citizens.
Section 13 (2) goes on to say “Measures referred to in this section must involve the people in the formulation and implementation of development plans and programmes that affect them.”
“In this case Government has not consulted anyone, this is just a unilateral decision that Zimbabwe must be open for business. In our view this is a flawed policy to say the country is open for all. The country should be open for all views, for all interest and not just being particular to safeguard, to promote, and to protect particular interest, in this case business.
“There must be a trade-off between opening to business and national interest and this has not been debated by the nation. We need a holistic policy that talks to both economic recovery and the distribution of the gains of production.”
Mutasa said businesses are not charity organisations but exist to make money, and they can be exploitative, manipulative and can shortchange workers.
“We need to make sure that we have fair bargaining of our resources. We can’t put economic growth at the forefront and park distribution at the back. Once business repatriate dividends, they are used to create jobs in other countries so there is need to distribute wealth through labour.
Mutasa said revenue figures from Zimra is clear testimony that labour is a strong contributor to the fiscus. He said labour also plays other social roles, such taking care of the elderly, which government is failing to do.
He said labour, through PAYE and VAT, contributes the bulk of the revenues and if this is destroyed, then the country is set to lose out.
“Because as a country we have not protected labour we have destroyed other aspects of a modern economy.
Mutasa said because we have destroyed job security with most workers now on term and under fixed contract, it means other critical areas such as credit provision have also been destroyed.
“We have paralysed the mortgage market and even the higher purchase market because there is no job security and labour cannot access such products.
“Casual labour is three months but higher purchase is 12 months, which means we have destroyed a key component of a modern economy
“However there is no economy that develops without credit. Credit helps leverage economic growth and that we have destroyed.
“Business itself is grappling with low aggregate demand because labour has been disempowered and cannot bargain,” he said.
Mutasa said if workers are empowered to bargain, then it will be easy to distribute economic resources and deal with poverty and inequality.
“It will be difficult for Government to put up corporate taxes, so the only way to deal with distribution of wealth is to empower labour to collectively bargain.
“This will ensure there is transfer of resources to the poor. Even Government will benefit through PAYE and VAT as a well remunerated employee will boost aggregate demand,” said Mutasa.
“Lastly we need a fairer society where there is engagement with all stakeholders be it Government, labour and business,” said Mutasa.
