By Own Correspondent   

THE National Union For The Clothing Industry (NUCI) has slammed the  Health Services Amendment Act and the Criminal Law (Codification and Reform Amendment Bill) for  violating  the Constitution of Zimbabwe and International Labour Organization (ILO) conventions that the country has ratified.

The union recently raised concerns that affected Conventions include Convention 87 (freedom of association and protection of the right to organize) and Convention 98 (the right to organize and collective bargaining). The ILO sent a fact-finding mission to Zimbabwe last year after receiving numerous reports on labour violations.

The Health Services Amendment Act states that strikes in the public health sector, which is described as an essential service, must not go beyond 72 hours. If unions fail to adhere to this limited time, the organizers will be fined and sentenced to three years in prison.

According to a government gazette the Criminal Law amendment will make it legal to arrest and prosecute the country’s populace for wilfully injuring the state sovereignty and national interest of Zimbabwe – a clause that legal experts say has wide interpretation that can lead to arbitrary arrests of human rights and trade union activists.

NUCI General Secretary Joseph Tanyanyiwa, the chairperson of the Zimbabwe IndustriALL national coordinating council said workers rights are a sacred preserve.

“Workers’ rights are human rights that should neither be constrained nor compromised. What is even more worrisome to us is the criminalization of freedom of expression. 

"The laws will have far-reaching negative impacts that will narrow our rights as protected in the country’s constitution and ILO conventions, which were ratified by the government. We are imploring the government to urgently amend or repeal the laws which will instil fear in trade unions and their members. These laws will weaken the workers' struggle for better working conditions.” 

Paule France Ndessomin, IndustriALL regional secretary for Sub Saharan Africa says: 

“It is oppressive to pass laws that prohibit strikes amid a cost-of-living crisis, wage theft, and low wages. We urge the Government of Zimbabwe to respect the country’s laws and the fundamental rights at work as defined by the ILO.”

IndustriALL affiliates in Zimbabwe are the National Union of the Clothing Industry (NUCI), National Union of Metal and Allied Industries of Zimbabwe (NUMAIZ), Zimbabwe Chemical, Plastics and Allied Workers Union (ZCPAWU), Zimbabwe Diamond and Allied Minerals Workers Union (ZDAMWU), Zimbabwe Energy Workers Union (ZEWU), Zimbabwe Leather Shoe and Allied Workers Union (ZLSAWU) and Zimbabwe Textile Workers Union (ZTWU).