VICTORIA FALLS (ILO News) - The Decent Work Country Programme (DWCP) for Zimbabwe covering 2022 – 2026, was signed in Victoria Falls today by the tripartite partners with Honourable Professor Paul Mavima representing the Ministry of Public Service, Labour and Social Welfare; Mr. Demos Mbauya, the President of the Employers’ Confederation of Zimbabwe (EMCOZ) and Ms. Florence Taruvinga, President of the Zimbabwe Congress of Trade Unions (ZCTU), respectively. Present and signing this fourth generation of DWCPs on behalf of the International Labour Office was its Assistant Director General and Regional Director for Africa, Ms. Cynthia Samuel-Olonjuwon.

This country programme will focus on employment promotion, social dialogue, international labour standards and strengthening of social and labour protection, which are the building blocks for promoting decent work and social justice.

Acknowledging that the document was aligned to the Abidjan Declaration, the Zimbabwe United Nations Sustainable Development Cooperation Framework, 2022-2026, and constituents’ priorities, Ms. Samuel-Olonjuwon pointed out the challenges and gaps affecting the global labour markets as well as Zimbabwe. She bemoaned the multiple and interrelated crises facing the world such as: the devastating COVID-19 pandemic and its impact on the world of work and economies; wars and civil strife, the repercussions of climate change; sharp rises in the cost of living and the unprecedented levels of global debt. These phenomena were threatening to reverse the progress made in the global fight against poverty, as well as widen the already unacceptable levels of inequalities across and within countries, hampering the achievement of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development.

She noted that in Zimbabwe, significant gaps existed in the quality and quantity of employment, especially for young people and women; with many children still in child labour, migrants encountering difficult situations, many people facing violence and harassment in the world of work; unsafe working conditions in the informal and rural economies. She emphasized the importance of social dialogue and hoped that the DWCP would help contribute towards getting ‘Zimbabwe Working’, achieving decent work and social justice.

The different speakers, among other issues, applauded the establishment of a department responsible for employment promotion in the Ministry of Labour and called for effective measurement of progress in employment creation. Some of the key areas that needed to be addressed under the framework of the DWCP include deepening job creation efforts; correcting the skills mismatches and occupational and safety deficits in the labour market; establishing a functional National Productivity Institute; domesticating and ratifying Convention No. 190 on elimination of violence and harassment in the world of work; a comprehensive social protection scheme that covered the employed in both the formal and informal settings, the unemployed, and persons with disabilities. There were repeated calls for a social contract to ensure the implementation of agreed resolutions and an operational TNF Secretariat.

Noting the financial gap needed to implement the DWCP, the partners were in agreement to engage the national treasury for support. They also agreed to approach development partners with a deliberate and coordinated resource mobilization strategy that would assist in raising the budgeted $12 million, to ensure that decent work becomes a reality for the people of Zimbabwe.

For more information, please contact: <harare@ilo.org