Observation (CEACR) - adopted 2019, published 109th ILC session (2021)

Freedom of Association and Protection of the Right to Organise Convention, 1948 (No. 87) - Zimbabwe (Ratification: 2003)

Follow-up to the recommendations of the Commission of Inquiry appointed under article 26 of the Constitution of the ILO

Follow-up to the conclusions of the Committee on the Application of Standards (International Labour Conference, 108th Session, June 2019)

The Committee notes the observations of the Zimbabwe Congress of Trade Unions (ZCTU), received on 30 August 2019, and of the International Trade Union Confederation (ITUC), received on 1 September 2019, raising issues addressed by the Committee below.

The Committee notes the discussion that took place in the Conference Committee in June 2019 concerning the application of the Convention. The Committee observes that the Conference Committee noted concern regarding the Government’s failure to implement specific elements of the recommendations of the 2009 Commission of Inquiry. The Conference Committee noted persisting issues of non-compliance with the Convention, including allegations of violations of the rights of the freedom of assembly of workers’ organizations. The Conference Committee also noted the Government’s stated commitment to ensure compliance with its obligations under the Convention and to the process of social dialogue, including through the framework for Tripartite Negotiating Forum (TNF). The Committee called upon the Government to: (i) refrain from the arrest, detention or engagement in violence, intimidation or harassment of trade union members conducting lawful trade union activities; (ii) ensure that the allegations of violence against trade union members are investigated, and where appropriate, impose dissuasive sanctions; (iii) repeal the Public Order and Security Act (POSA), as it has committed to do so, and ensure that the replacement legislation regarding public order does not violate workers’ and employers’ freedom of association in law and practice; (iv) revise or repeal the Public Service Act and, as necessary, the Health Services Act, to allow public sector workers freedom of association in consultation with the social partners; (v) amend the Labour Act, in consultation with workers’ and employers’ organizations, to come into compliance with the Convention; and finally (vi) continue to engage in social dialogue with the workers’ and employers’ organizations in connection with the framework of the TNF. The Conference Committee urged the Government to accept a direct contacts mission of the ILO to assess progress before the next International Labour Conference.

The Committee notes the End of Mission Statement of the United Nations Special Rapporteur on the rights to freedom of peaceful assembly and of association, Mr Clément Nyaletsossi Voule, on his visit to Zimbabwe in September 2019.

The Committee notes that the Government’s report has not been received. It is therefore bound to repeat in substance its previous comments regarding the following issues.

Trade union rights and civil liberties. The Committee recalls that it had noted with concern the allegations submitted by the ITUC and the ZCTU regarding: the injuries suffered by the ZCTU personnel when the union’s office came under attack by soldiers during the demonstrations on 1 August 2018; cases of strike action being banned and criminalized; and denial or delay of trade unions registration. The Committee notes the most recent information provided by the ZCTU, according to which the Government set up a Commission of Inquiry to investigate the police and military action during the August 2018 demonstrations. According to the ZCTU, the Commission found out that six people were killed and 35 injured as a result of the military and police action and recommended a payment of compensation for losses and damages caused. The ZCTU expresses its concern that no compensation has been paid to its staff members affected nor for the damages to its building, and that the perpetrators have not been made accountable for their action. The ZCTU informs that the Footwear Tanners and Allied Workers Union of Zimbabwe remains unregistered. The Committee requests the Government to provide detailed comments on these serious allegations.

The Committee recalls that it had previously noted that a training curriculum on freedom of association was being developed for the dissemination and use by police officers. The Committee notes with concern the ZCTU’s latest allegation that it has not observed a change in behaviour on the part of the police officers and that the situation on the ground has turned for the worst with serious attacks on civil liberties. The Committee requests the Government to provide its comments on the ZCTU allegations of several new instances of violation of civil liberties in the country. Further in this respect, the Committee notes with concern the reference made by the UN Special Rapporteur in his statement, to the authorities’ response to the protests of January 2019 calling for a national “stay away” in response to massive fuel price increases and, in particular, the fact that the order to disperse protestors participating in the demonstrations led to the use of lethal and excessive use of force, mass arbitrary arrests and torture.

Public Order and Security Act (POSA). The Committee recalls that it had previously requested the Government to review the application of the POSA, in consultation with the social partners, with a view to making proposals to ensure with greater clarity that trade union activities were outside its scope. The Committee takes note of the ZCTU’s indication that no such consultations took place. According to the ZCTU, the Maintenance of Peace and Order (MOPO) Bill, more draconian than the POSA, is currently before Parliament. The Committee notes in this respect that according to the UN Special Rapporteur on the rights to freedom of peaceful assembly and of association, while the MOPO Bill contains some improvements, it “does not propose significant substantive amendments targeted to address the main problems prevailing in the POSA”. Furthermore, according to the UN Special Rapporteur, the MOPO “has worrying similarities to the POSA, revealing a common scope in which the exercise of the right to peaceful assembly is not fully guaranteed. Instead, the MOPO Bill continues to give law enforcement agencies broad regulatory discretion and powers”. The Committee requests the Government to transmit a copy of the Bill so that it may examine its conformity with the Convention. In the meantime, it urges the Government to conduct thorough and full consultations with the social partners on the upcoming legislation dealing with assemblies and demonstrations.

Labour law reform and harmonization. Labour Act. In its previous comment, the Committee noted with concern that, despite its numerous requests, some of which predate the 2009 Commission of Inquiry, there was no concrete progress in amending the Labour Act so as to bring it into conformity with the Convention. Noting that the social partners were concerned that the legislative reform was slow and haphazard, leading to the perception of a lack of political will to carry it out, the Committee expected that the labour law review would be concluded in full consultation with the social partners, without further delay. The Committee notes the ZCTU’s recent submission that no legislative changes have occurred and that the fourth version of the draft Labour Bill does not address the requests made by the Commission of Inquiry nor by this Committee. The Committee notes that at its meeting in June 2019, the Committee on Freedom of Association urged the Government to amend the Labour Act without further delay in consultation with the social partners (see Case No. 3128, Report No. 389, paragraphs 103–109). The Committee is bound to note with deep regret the lack of progress in the labour law reform. It urges the Government, in consultation with the social partners, to take the necessary steps towards completing the reform and bringing the Labour Act into full conformity with the Convention. The Committee requests the Government to provide information on developments in this regard.

Public Service Act and Health Services Act. The Committee had previously requested the Government to ensure, in consultation with the social partners, that under the Public Service Act, staff of the Civil Service Commission enjoyed the rights enshrined in the Convention and that legislative provisions dealing with the registration of organizations of public servants would be sufficiently clear so as not to give rise to possible interpretation of the law as giving discretionary power to the authorities to refuse the registration of an organization. The Committee had previously noted the ZCTU’s indication that the Health Services Act required reforms as it mostly duplicated the Public Service Act, in particular regarding freedom of association and collective bargaining rights. The Committee notes with concern that no new legislation has been adopted and that the Principles for the harmonization of the Public Service Act and the Health Services Act have not been shared with the social partners. In the absence of the Government’s report, the Committee is bound to reiterate its previous request and expects that the process of reviewing the public service legislation will be conducted in full consultation with the social partners.

The Committee notes that the Tripartite Negotiating Forum (TNF) Act was enacted and that the TNF was launched on 5 June 2019. The Committee expects this to begin a new era for social dialogue in Zimbabwe, which would allow for pending legislative amendments and labour law reform and public service legislation harmonization to be concluded without further delay, in the spirit of a genuine, effective and sustained dialogue.

The Committee urges the Government to accept a direct contacts mission of the ILO requested by the Conference Committee to assess progress before the next International Labour Conference.