Flaws of Contract Law in Zimbabwe
Great Zimbabwe University Faculty of social sciences Dept of PSY and HRM
COURSE: LABOUR LAW
LECTURER: MR MUPANI
NAMES:
TAFADZWA N MOYO M112877
TAFADZWA MUTIWANYUKA M
BELIEVE G MBULAWA M
TERENCE MATASHU M
ABIGAIL MABVIRAKARE M
CARLEEN KATURUZA M
FRANCISCA ZVENYIKA M
MARY SHIRICHENA M
Labour law according to Gwisai (2006) refers to the system of rules that regulate the voluntary relationships arising from the workplace and whose enforcement is guaranteed by the state as law. According to the labour act Chap 28.01, labour law is referred to as the law relating to employment relationship. Termination of employment is when an employee’s contract of employment with an employer ends. This can either be due to redundancy, resignation or dismissal or is incapacitated from performing his work, Labour Act Chap 28.01.
The essence of this essay is to discuss minister Biti’s statement which describes Zimbabwean labour laws as “too rigid, suffocating to business and inimical to economic recovery and development, especially in relation to laws governing termination of employment”.
The first and major issue in termination of employment is the issue of retrenchment. The retrenchment procedure as stated in the Labour act is too cumbersome and time wasting, and chances of approval are minimal if company is still viable. Retrenchment is viewed as last resort and the final decision lies with the retrenchment board and the minister. The whole process to approval or rejection may take months or even years. This creates a rigid labour market which is unable to shed or reconfigure labour requirements in response to changing products and demand conditions. This in all hinders business development and economic growth.
The retrenchment procedure itself can be costly to an organisation. A lot of money is used as wages during the process and the benefits and retrenchment packages. This financial drain of
COURSE: LABOUR LAW
LECTURER: MR MUPANI
NAMES:
TAFADZWA N MOYO M112877
TAFADZWA MUTIWANYUKA M
BELIEVE G MBULAWA M
TERENCE MATASHU M
ABIGAIL MABVIRAKARE M
CARLEEN KATURUZA M
FRANCISCA ZVENYIKA M
MARY SHIRICHENA M
Labour law according to Gwisai (2006) refers to the system of rules that regulate the voluntary relationships arising from the workplace and whose enforcement is guaranteed by the state as law. According to the labour act Chap 28.01, labour law is referred to as the law relating to employment relationship. Termination of employment is when an employee’s contract of employment with an employer ends. This can either be due to redundancy, resignation or dismissal or is incapacitated from performing his work, Labour Act Chap 28.01.
The essence of this essay is to discuss minister Biti’s statement which describes Zimbabwean labour laws as “too rigid, suffocating to business and inimical to economic recovery and development, especially in relation to laws governing termination of employment”.
The first and major issue in termination of employment is the issue of retrenchment. The retrenchment procedure as stated in the Labour act is too cumbersome and time wasting, and chances of approval are minimal if company is still viable. Retrenchment is viewed as last resort and the final decision lies with the retrenchment board and the minister. The whole process to approval or rejection may take months or even years. This creates a rigid labour market which is unable to shed or reconfigure labour requirements in response to changing products and demand conditions. This in all hinders business development and economic growth.
The retrenchment procedure itself can be costly to an organisation. A lot of money is used as wages during the process and the benefits and retrenchment packages. This financial drain of
References: Gwisai, Munyaradzi 2007. Labour and employment law in Zimbabwe: Relations of work under neo-colonial capitalism. Harare, Zimbabwe Labour Centre and Institute of Commercial Law, University of Zimbabwe. Hagglund, G. and C. Provis 2005. The conciliation step of the unfair dismissal process in South Australia. Labour Studies Journal, 29 (4), pp. 65–86. Mariwo, Tsitsi 2008. Working conditions and labour relations in the private security industry in Zimbabwe: A research paper. Issue Paper No. 27. Harare, ILO Publications. The Zimbabwe Labour Act Chapter 28.01 (2006)