Role of Workers Committees, Trade Unions and Employment Councils in Zimbabwe.
INTRODUCTION
A country’s harmonious labour relations system improves competitive advantage. This spillover
is obtainable in countries that shape, respect and recognise the relevant legal institutions to
achieve industrial harmony. The institutions that oil this industrial peace are workers committees
or shop stewards (Larsen et al, 2011), trade unions and employment councils. The capital-labour
coexistence was wrought through worker struggles (Pribićević, 1959). Thus they are integral
regimes of every nation including Zimbabwean. This essay endeavors to root the relevant
legislative provisions for each of the institutions named above. The aim being to enlighten the
reader to appreciate these bodies.
WORKERS COMMITTEES
In my nineteen years of Labour Consultancy, I have deduced that Workers Committees are
wheels turning the whole board of the municipal workplace relations and cascades upwards to,
regional and international industrial peace. In Zimbabwe, these are provided for in the principal
Labour Laws regime – the Labour Act Chapter (28:01), which has codified the formation,
composition and functions of workers’ committees. Thus their existence is guaranteed and
protected by law.
Section 23 of the Labour Act Chapter (28:01), hereafter the Act, regulates the formation of
workers committees. It states in subsection (1) that, “Subject to this Act and any regulations,
employees employed by any one employer may appoint or elect a workers committee to
represent their interests: Provided that no managerial employee shall be appointed or elected to a
workers committee, nor shall a workers committee represent the interests of managerial
employees, unless such workers committee is composed solely of managerial employees
appointed or elected to represent their interests”. The composition and procedure of a workers
committee is determined by the employees at the relevant workplace concerned. This institution
is directly linked to relevant trade unions and if one represents the interests of not less than fifty
per cent of the workers at a workplace where a committee is to be established, every member of
the workers committee must have membership status of the trade union concerned. For the
purposes of appointing or electing a workers committee, employees are entitled to be assisted by
a labour officer or a representative of the relevant trade union. The employer is then supposed to
provide enough facilities to the employees for unfettered communication amongst themselves
during working hours without interfering with the employer’s business.
FUNCTIONS OF A WORKER`S COMMITTEE.
In terms of the Section 24 of the Act, these workers’ bodies function to represent employees in
all matters that affect their rights and interests, that is negotiate agreements relating to terms and
conditions of employment and direct or indirectly recommend a collective job action if the
employer resists their demands, but only as a last resort. Further it actually acts as direct link and
means of communication between management and employees at shop level and provides means
for the representation and discussion with management of employee’s requirements and
grievances in order to promote stability and good employee/management relationship and to
encourage the settlement of differences and disputes by grievances handling methods. The
existence of a workers committee also promotes productivity by generating a stable and healthy
atmosphere within the company and especially within the working environment. Workers
committees also provide to their fellow workers advise in respect of any grievance/disciplinary
matters, thus ensure observance of industrial regulations for the industry to the mutual benefit of
all employees and management through co-operation with the established Trade Union. Finally
such committees elect some of its members to represent employees on the Works council which
is made up of equal managerial representatives, representing the employer and the workers
committee representatives, representing employees.
In such works councils, in terms of Section 25 of the Act, “every collective bargaining
agreement which has been negotiated by a workers committee shall be referred by the workers
committee to the employees and the trade union concerned, and, if approved by the trade union
and by more than fifty per centum of the employees, shall become binding on the employer and
the employees concerned”.
WORKS COUNCILS
A Work Councils is the bargaining forum at plant level. Section 25A of the Act enacts the
composition, procedure and functions of works councils, stating in subsection (1) that “in every
establishment in which a workers committee representing employees other than managerial
employees has been elected, there shall be a works council”. This council is composed of an
equal number of members representing the employer and the workers committee. The procedure
of a works council is determined by the employer and the workers committee at the
establishment concerned.
In terms of Section 26 of the same Act, the Minister of Labour is authorised to make regulations
governing workers committees but only after consultation with the relevant ‘advisory council’, if
any, appointed in terms of the law or make such regulations as he may consider cogent for the
control of employee committees and their works councils. Such may provide for the methods or
procedures to be followed for the formation of these committees, their tenure of office and the
operation, management and conduct of their and that of relevant works councils.
TRADE UNIONS
In accordance with the Act, any group of workers may form a trade union. By the same token, a
group of trade unions or employers organizations may form a trade union or employer’s
federation. The Act authorises a trade union to represent or advance the interests of its members
or any employees in respect of their condition of employment. The functions of the workers
committees are similar to that of trade unions but are more escalated and professionally
executed.
The functions of a trade union can be summarized in Section 29 Act, that in its body corporate
form, it is capable of suing or being sued, of attaining or otherwise purchasing property either
movable or immovable anything which its constitution requires or permits, or which a body
corporate may, by law, do. This body corporate form is legally allowed, through its duly
authorized representatives, to the “right of access to employees and to be provided by employers
with the names and other relevant particulars, including particulars as to wages of all employees
who are employed in the industry or undertaking for which the trade union or federation is
registered, and who are members of the trade union or federation concerned; and to make
representations to a determining authority”; and to seek legal representation on any matters
affecting it and to resort to or recommend collective job action. They are authorised by the Act to
levy their membership, to collect, “sue for and recover union dues”. In addition to these
privileges, a union official or office-bearer is entitled to reasonable paid leave for the purpose of
performing such correlative functions of the trade union office.
NATIONAL EMPLOYMENT COUNCILS
The Act in Section 56 provides for the formation of employment councils. It states “Any
employer, registered employers’ organization or federation of such organizations; and registered
trade union or federation of such trade unions; may, at any time, form an employment council by
signing a constitution agreed to by them for the governance of the council, and by applying for
its registration in terms of the Act”. However in terms of the same law, there can be statutory
employment councils as the Minister may, direct whenever the national interest so demands.
In elaborating the functions of employment councils, the press plays a vital role in
educating the community in this regard, Nicholas K. Nhimba a news Correspondent with
the Herald wrote an article on 5 September 2018 and stated clearly the roles of National
Employment Councils which buttressed my some of my duties as the then Vice Chairman
of the National Employment Council for the Printing Packaging and Newspapers Industry
from 2003 to 2006. I have adopted the same without reservation. He states as follows thus
“A National Employment Council (NEC) is a bipartite labour body specifically dealing
with labour-related issues in a specific industry or sector”. The main theme here is to have
a platform for social dialogue between two ‘warring’ parties with somewhat parallel and
antagonistic economic interests. But they become NEC social partners with secretariat
running the daily Councils business.
In order to achieve efficacy in the execution of its functions, an NEC subdivides the social
partners into sub-committees, and one such important is the dispute resolution committee
which carries the main functions of the NEC. This organ provides dispute resolution
machinery to achieve industrial peace in the relevant sector. Its performance duties are as
prescribed by the Act and includes firstly, sectorial collective bargaining on any aspect of
working conditions. These Collective Bargaining Agreements (CBA) are then published by
the Ministry of Labour and Social Welfare government gazette as Statutory Instruments as
a product of delegated legislation with full force of the law. The NEC’s task here is to
facilitate the social partners to conclude a CBA in terms of Section 62(1) (a) of the Act
thus fulfilling the ILO Convention (C098) 1949 which provides for the right to organize,
and the Collective Bargaining ILO Convention C154, 1981, the right to Collective
Bargaining.
Secondly, the subcommittee resolves sectorial disputes in terms of Section 62(1) (a) of the
Act. As the working relationship is a ‘pair of antagonistic muscle’, disputes are always
encountered and needs resolution. These include disputes of rights and interests. The
former refers to disputes that the law has conferred while the later to those that want to
create rights which the law must recognise if agreed upon. Both are resolved through
Alternative Dispute Resolution (ADR), which are Conciliation, Arbitration and
Adjudication in terms of Section 93(5) (c) of the Act and the Labour Amendment Act
5/15. This is in line with ILO Recommendation (R092) on Voluntary Conciliation and
Arbitration Recommendation 1951.
The same subcommittee is mandated to do sectorial labour inspections, which is
characterized by physical visits to companies to as per ILO Labour Inspection Convention
(C081) 1947. This is so to secure the CBA enforcement and to offer technical support to
workers and employers and for correcting any anomalies so observed. In this way, all
sectorial players are kept in check but also being provided with information on new
legislation and any other state proclamations relating to working relations. During these
labour inspections, data on training needs on social partners is gathered for continuous and
further training. Thus building to the fourth component of preventing disputes in terms of
Section 62(1) (a) of the Act. Hearing Appeals on both disciplinary and grievances is
undertaken by dispute resolution committee, to resolve any such industrial appeals and
grievances referred to it. Sixth, in all CBA provisions, some companies may not be stable
with such agreements and therefore they engage the same subcommittee, seeking to be
exempted. Thus NEC processes such applications and determines according to the strength
or weaknesses of such, that is whether it is appealing or not, for the employer to be
exempted from the minimum agreement prescribed by law. Lastly it is the duty of the
NEC to enforce labour law through litigation against those not complying with sectorial
legal requirements.
CONCLUSION
As can be gleaned from the above, workers committees, trade unions and national
employment councils are very important cogs in the dispatch of industrial peace and
harmony, both nationally and internationally. Their existence and functions are provided
and protected by both municipal and international law. Long ago, all international
upheavals where as a result of the lack of entrenching social partnerism, but since such is
in our labour law radar, the appreciation of the institutions oiling social peace and
harmony in industrial relations is prerequisite for any country’s development agenda.
References
Larsen, Trine Navrbjerg, Steen (2011) Social partners Working conditions and sustainable work
Industrial relations
Nicholas K. Nhimba Correspondent the Herald 5 September 2018