Source: ZLHR Marks Workers’ Day With Call to Protect Zimbabwe’s Informal Workers
The Zimbabwe Lawyers for Human Rights (ZLHR) has joined the global community in commemorating International Workers’ Day, calling for urgent reforms to improve the working conditions and rights of workers across Zimbabwe, particularly in the informal sector.
In a statement issued on 1 May, ZLHR acknowledged this year’s international theme: “Occupational Health and Safety: A Fundamental Right at Work”, which also includes a growing focus on the impact of artificial intelligence (AI) and digitisation on workplace safety. Said the ZLHR:
The theme underscores the legal and moral imperative to safeguard every worker’s health, safety, and dignity in the workplace.
The ZLHR noted that Section 65 of Zimbabwe’s Constitution guarantees the right to fair and safe labour practices, including fair wages, safe working conditions, and protection from forced labour.
Zimbabwe is also a state party to key international agreements such as the International Labour Organisation (ILO) conventions and the African Charter on Human and Peoples’ Rights, which enshrine labour rights as fundamental human rights.
Despite these legal frameworks, ZLHR said the reality for many workers in Zimbabwe remains concerning. The ZLHR said:
Many workers continue to labour under hazardous conditions without adequate protective measures or access to remedy in cases of workplace injuries or fatalities.
Workers in both the private and public sectors continue to earn low wages that do not allow them and their families to live above the poverty datum line, while unemployment and inequality is increasing at a shocking pace.
ZLHR further criticised both the government and private employers for “turning their backs on the working people.”
The statement highlighted the plight of workers in the informal sector, which constitutes the bulk of Zimbabwe’s workforce. It reads:
The widespread criminalisation of informal livelihoods further exacerbates their vulnerability to exploitation, harassment, and unsafe working environments.
Informal workers are routinely excluded from occupational health and safety protections, social security schemes, and legal redress.”
The organisation also condemned the suppression of trade union activity in the country, noting a continued pattern of arrests, intimidation, and harassment targeting labour leaders and workers exercising their constitutional rights. ZLHR said:
The arbitrary arrest, detention, and harassment of labour leaders, which recently culminated in the apprehension of some University of Zimbabwe lecturers, undermines the constitutional promise of labour justice.
The conduct of law enforcement agents in suppressing legitimate activities of trade unionists is grossly unlawful.
ZLHR called on the government to urgently meet its constitutional and international legal obligations, including reforming and enforcing occupational health and safety laws to align with international standards.
The organisation also urged authorities to ensure that “all workers, including those in the informal economy, enjoy safe and healthy workplaces.”
ZLHR also called for an end to the “harassment and criminalisation of trade unionists and labour rights defenders” and for the protection of workers’ rights to organise, bargain collectively, and peacefully protest—freedoms guaranteed by the Constitution. Reads the statement:
Workers’ rights are inseparable from the broader human rights framework. The right to a safe and healthy working environment is not a privilege — it is a fundamental human right that the state is duty-bound to respect, protect, and fulfil.
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