The Sunday Mail
It is a fact that our Labour Relations Act had become obsolete and overdue for review.
By Honourable Mike Bimha
This law was promulgated in 1980 in a situation that was different from the current one.
Back then, Government’s focus was redressing historical imbalances resulting from colonialism.
Today’s thrust has completely changed – our goal is to align the Act with Zim-Asset, and this is critical to both public and private sectors.
I think we, as a nation, took too long to address this issue and things got really bad.
The exercise should have been instituted years ago. What partly put spanners in the works, you could say, were problems related to the inclusive Government as much work was put in the back burner.
The nation and Government did not move fast enough.
There were genuine issues of companies needing to reduce their workforces or realign labour set-ups, but could not do so because of the Labour Act’s rigidity.
As a result, when the Supreme Court ruling was delivered, some employers took that as an opportunity to part ways with some of their staff.
The ruling, by the way, had nothing to do with the Labour Act. It was just an interpretation of the law as far as those two managers were concerned.
Some companies abused that ruling left, right and centre. Even some companies that could have taken other routes to reduce labour costs took advantage of the ruling to dismiss workers without following due process.
Given such a scenario, Government could not just sit and watch while things continued in that manner. Government had to come up with ways to restore order.
However, Government is not rigid.
It is prepared to talk to companies that can prove they cannot make the payouts provided for in the Labour Act as amended.
Where genuine cases exist, Government is ready to listen, engaging players on a case-by-case basis.
At the end of the day, it’s a matter of engaging each other. I’m sure we can find our way around legalities through proper and well-informed negotiations in exceptional cases.
In fact, the law provides for engagement in unique circumstances.
Guaranteeing industry survival, growth
The concern today is not just about job losses, but job-creation also.
However, for there to be employment creation, there has to be economic growth. You have to grow the economy to create jobs.
What we intend to do is grow the productive sector (agriculture, mining, tourism, manufacturing and the services sectors).
If these areas grow, then they create jobs, even for SMEs through value chain linkages.
That is the broader picture informing Government policy formulation inasfar as growing industry. Government has embarked on a number of initiatives to grow and support industry, these cut across all sectors.
Lately, there has been a lot of policy review to facilitate the productive sector’s growth.
In mining, there has been a shift in terms of providing support for small-scale miners through funding schemes and simplifying their operating environment.
There is also an ongoing review of mining legislation and broader Government policy regarding the operations of larger mining corporations. Tourism is looking to increase the number of tourist arrivals in the country.
Further, agriculture is giving a lot of encouragement. Government is investing in agriculture mechanisation via support programmes from Brazil, Belarus and more recently, India.
Smallholder input support schemes are in the offing and contract farming is beginning to get traction. All these factors point towards an improving agriculture sector. In manufacturing, Government is working to establish Special Economic Zones. These are an idea of identifying companies, areas or products that require special policy and legal attention.
Special attention in terms of coming up with incentives for that particular area, industry or product.
As we speak, we are working with experts from China, Ethiopia and other countries that have vast experience in SEZs.
We are also looking at creating industrial parks similar to Sun-way City in Ruwa and we would like to replicate that in other towns.
We want to establish the “cotton-to-clothing” strategy as a Special Economic Zone as well, and another area of focus is the “leather and leather products” sector.
In addition, Government is drawing up a framework for supporting joint ventures, again as a way to encourage outside investors who may want to come and engage in joint ventures with us.
The ministries of Finance and Economic Development and Industry and Commerce are continuously looking for funding that will go towards the productive sector, especially manufacturing.
We are finalising a framework that will facilitate the continuation of the Distressed and Marginalised Areas Fund.
But this will be a different framework in that it will have a much larger and accessible financial base.
Under this programme, there will be continual monitoring and support for companies that would have received funding.
The framework is being drawn up with input from the Institute of Chartered Accountants; judicial managers and other professional bodies.
In addition to that facility, we are also working with the Reserve Bank of Zimbabwe and outside financiers to come up with the Zimbabwe Industrial Fund.
Unlike Dimaf, this Fund will work in setting up new industries.
It is still work in progress, but will be on line soon, once the relevant groundwork has been done. We want to cover budding players as we are not only looking at resuscitating industry, but creating new ones as well.
Here, we are talking of support for new players, some of them indigenous who see opportunities, but lack necessary funding.
We are also interacting a lot with Zimbabweans in the Diaspora, especially South Africa where we have noticed immense interest from those who want to invest back home.
Further, we are carrying out investment forums; I have been to South Africa three times in 2015 and I was in Dubai recently to meet Zimbabweans and possible investors.
The feedback has been encouraging.
Competitiveness & ease of doing business
Government has approved re-branding of the National Incomes and Pricing Commission into the National Competitiveness Commission.
The Attorney-General is working flat out to ensure those amendments are delivered expeditiously.
And Cabinet has taken the exceptional decision to allow us to go ahead with setting up the NCC while we await the relevant legal framework.
Very soon, I will be announcing the Commission’s Board since much of the groundwork has already been done.
The NCC’s main thrust will be to address all issues that affect competitiveness.
These could include costs associated with power, environment, water, transport, licences and permits.
Above all, it will tackle the ease of doing business. It looks at everything that affects business in terms of competitiveness – even issues to do with labour and labour costs.
It cuts across all ministries.
The beauty of it is that Cabinet has agreed to the establishment of a Standing Cabinet Committee on Competitiveness.
I chair this committee and any other minister who may have issues dealing with competitiveness can be co-opted.
Senior officials drawn from the relevant ministries meet as a committee, so do the ministers.
We then submit our findings to Cabinet for approval.
This makes decision-making easier and indicates the importance that Government has placed on competitiveness.
The Commission will be up and running by the end of September.
Honourable Mike Bimha is the Minister of Industry and Commerce. Our Senior Reporter Lincoln Towindo interviewed him in Harare last week.
