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Enacy Mapakame
Business Reporter
Government is aware of the plight of employees, including the effects of wage cuts caused by the Covid-19 pandemic, and has called for mutually beneficial dialogue between stakeholders to address the challenges workers are facing, a senior official has said.

Most businesses were severely affected by the outbreak of the Covid-19 pandemic in December 2019, as production and revenues decreased significantly due to the lockdowns effected to contain the deadly disease.

The travel and tourism sector was one of the worst affected, not only in Zimbabwe but the world over, as travel restrictions were put in place to limit the spread of the pandemic, while local hospitality businesses temporarily closed some of their facilities.

As a result, wage and job cuts were experienced across the economy.

Globally, youth employment fell by 8,7 percent in 2020 due to Covid-19, according to the International Labour Organisation.

The director of labour administration and employment services in the Ministry of Public Service, Labour and Social Welfare Langton Ngorima applauded National Employment Councils (NECs) for maintaining an open dialogue with employees and various stakeholders.

This, he said, was done in order to address disputes during an unprecedented period characterised by job cuts due Covid-19 pandemic.

He said some level of maturity was displayed during the Covid-19 crisis as both employers and employees were in a fix due to the adverse effects of the pandemic.

He said a mature dialogue had proven to be the best way of negotiating during a crisis as opposed to industrial actions.

“We have experienced a situation where revenues have been going down for businesses because of reduced production while employees faced rising cost of living with reduced earnings.

“Employment councils and workers’ committees have been able to engage in mature dialogue in order to come up with a common ground.

“As Government we have been open to dialogue and businesses have come forward requesting for easing of restrictions to allow them more trading hours so they can produce, and we have seen a gradual relaxing of lockdown restrictions.

“That is a result of dialogue,” he said yesterday during a 2021 annual labour relations virtual conference  organised by the Engineering Iron and Steel Association of Zimbabwe (EISAZ) .

Mr Ngorima also said it was now imperative for businesses to devise strategies to increase production as economic activity increases on the back of easing of lockdown restrictions.

This way, he said, would ensure improved earnings for employees while the organisation remains sustainable.

The annual conference, which drew participants from the engineering sector, labour law experts and business leaders, also discussed the global and regional trends in the labour market, new leadership approaches and the importance of healthy labour relations.