By Own Correspondent| The Zimbabwe Congress of Trade Union has described as unacceptable Labour minister Sekai Nzenza’s statements where she was allegedly quoted saying employers must be given the right to hire and fire workers.

In a statement released by the labour body, the newly appointed minister has started her tenure on a “wring footing”.

Said President of the ZCTU, Peter Mutasa in a statement:

“Statements coming from a Minister are quite unfortunate, unacceptable and must be condemned in the strongest terms. The Minister has started her tenure on a wrong footing.”

Below is the full text of the statement:

26 September 2018
For immediate release
PRESS RELEASE

SUBJECT: MINISTER OF PUBLIC SERVICE, LABOUR AND SOCIAL WELFARE DR SEKAI NZENZA

The Zimbabwe Congress of Trade Unions (ZCTU) is shocked to the core by statements attributed to the new Minister of Public Service, Labour and Social Welfare Sekai Nzenza that employers must be given the right to hire and fire workers.

Such statements coming from a Minister are quite unfortunate, unacceptable and must be condemned in the strongest terms. The Minister has started her tenure on a wrong footing.

For some time now, the ZCTU has been working hard to improve the labour laws in this country and it appears the Minister want to take that away in the name of ‘improving’ the ease of doing business.

The ZCTU is aware that now we have a neo-liberal government that does not care about workers but business and profits. This government is doing whatever is in its power to introduce Labour Market Flexibility in the name of wooing investors and in the process, workers suffer.

We will never let people temper with the Labour Act without our input. It all started with the former Finance Minister Patrick Chinamasa making it clear that “it is necessary to introduce in our labour laws flexibility in the hiring of workers, as well as alignment of wage adjustment to labour flexibility”. In other words, he wanted employers to pay poor wages as well as allow them to hire and fire without any hindrances. Chinamasa claimed that the labour laws in this country are “skewed in favour of employees” and this has contributed to company closures.

It seems now we have moved the full circle. Now we have a new Minister amplifying this thinking. Such statements coming from a recently elected Zanu PF government is shocking as the party claims to be pro poor and pro workers. However, the ZCTU is aware that over the years Zanu PF big wigs have become employers, both in farms as well as industries, hence their resistance to provide decent work with descent wages to employees. Zanu PF has dramatically and spectacularly summersaulted from being a socialist party to a capitalist party.

As we have said before, labour is NOT a commodity and making it solely a factor of production is wrong. There are a lot of variables in the production chain like raw materials, machinery and technology that determine costs and sacrificing labour is unfair.

We demand an explanation from Minister Nzenza on such retrogressive statement. We also call upon all workers to unite and defend our interests against a government that has clearly been captured by global and local capital special interests groups. The ZCTU will soon be coordinating all workers’ organizations and other social movements for a way forward.

Peter Mutasa
PRESIDENT