via Emcoz to meet minister over Labour Act amendments – The Zimbabwe Independent January 9, 2015
THE Employer’s Confederation of Zimbabwe presidium will meet newly appointed Labour minister Prisca Mupfumira next Monday to discuss various issues which include the proposed amendments to the Labour Act, businessdigest has established.
Emcoz president Jack Murehwa and his two vice presidents — Joe Kahwema and Callisto Jokonya — will meet Mupfumira who was appointed minister last month replacing Nicholas Goche who was sacked by President Robert Mugabe.
“The new Labour minister will meet with the Emcoz presidium where we want discuss about the progress of labour law reforms since cabinet has approved the principle of labour reform,” Emcoz director John Mufukare said. “We want to know when the reforms will be presented to parliament before it is presented as a bill.”
He said they would consult Mupfumira on organising a meeting where she will meet employer representatives and discuss their concerns.
The meeting comes at a time most national employment councils are still deadlocked over minimum wages for 2014 when they are expected to begin negotiations for minimum wages for this year.
Mufukare said the continued deadlock in negotiations did not bode well for 2015.
“That (continued wage deadlocks) is where we are at the moment. Things are not well at all,” Mufukare said.
“As we start the year we cannot hope for things to get any better than last year.”
He said there was need for the employment councils to expedite negotiations and reach an agreement, adding it was clear that they will not back pay to cover the period during which negotiations were being held.
The continued deadlocks come at a time there have been massive job losses with more than 6 000 retrenched between January and November last year. In his presentation of the 2015 budget last year, Finance minister Patrick Chinamasa revealed that 4 610 companies closed shop resulting in the loss of more than 55 400 jobs between 2011 and 2014. — Staff Writer.
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