Observation (CEACR) - adoptée 2010, publiée 100ème session CIT (2011)

The Committee notes that the Government’s report, received on 21 December 2009, is confined to indicating that the Government takes note of the Committee’s comments and undertakes to keep the Office informed of any developments in the strengthening of labour inspection in the agricultural sector.

The Committee also notes the comments made by the Zimbabwe Congress of Trade Unions (ZCTU) in a communication dated 21 September 2009, which provides information in relation to the comments previously made by the Committee. According to the ZCTU, there is no legislation in place that deals specifically with agricultural undertakings. However, occupational safety and health issues are covered under the Environment Management Act (Chapter 20:27) according to which, every worker has the right to work in an environment that does not endanger his or her safety. The Act regulates the usage, storage, labelling and disposal of hazardous substances and articles. The Act is complemented by the collective bargaining agreement in the agricultural industry SI323/1993 which compels employers to provide employees appropriate protective clothing and devices to protect them from hazardous substances. The labour inspection in agriculture is also covered by sections 125–126 of the Labour Act which empower labour officers and designated agents of Employment Councils to investigate and inspect work practices in any employment establishment.

The ZCTU deplores that this enforcement mechanism has not been effectively applied in farms since 2000 due to the troubled political situation. Labour officers as well as designated agents of Employment Councils are incapacitated in terms of resources. It adds that political violence in some farms is still a problem and that trade unions, in particular the officials of the General Agriculture and Plantation Workers’ Union (GAPWUZ) which is affiliated to the ZCTU are harassed, beaten, detained and intimidated whenever they try to conduct trade union activities. According to the ZCTU, in some farms that have been compulsorily acquired by the Government, workers are evicted from their dwellings for demanding their salaries; efforts to enforce payment of salaries are becoming fruitless and a relevant dispute is pending before the National Employment Council for the Agriculture Sector while the eviction dispute is pending in the Mutare Magistrate Court as Case No. 42/09. Furthermore, the employers are refusing to negotiate insisting that the 10 Zimbabwe dollars (ZWD) salary currently paid to farm workers is adequate. The lack of meaningful inspections in the agriculture sector subjects farm workers to exploitation and lack of enforcement and penalties remain a challenge. The Committee requests the Government to provide any comments it may consider appropriate to the observations of the ZCTU. It further requests the Government to send a detailed report on the manner in which the Convention is applied in law and in practice on the basis of the questions raised in the report form of the Convention.