Labour column, Davies Ndumiso Sibanda
MANY members of the workers’ committee do not know the role they should play in the organisation and as a result they fail to represent workers in an effective manner.

The first thing is that the workers committee is a creature of statute created in-terms of provisions of section 23 of the Labour Act Chapter 28:01 as read with Statutory Instrument 372 of 1985. In addition, it is advisable to also consider the workers’ committee and works council guidelines that were released by the Ministry of Labour in 1985. Further, to understand the role of the works council fully, one has to look at section 24, 25 and 25A of the Labour Act Chapter 28:01.

These legal provisions relating to the role and functions of the workers’ committee are not as simple to understand and apply as they look.

On the ground, many members of the workers’ committee have found themselves on the wrong side of the law while engaging in activities that have led to their dismissal.

I recall a case of a workers’ committee chairman who left his work station without authority to attend a works council meeting and was subsequently dismissed.

I also recall a case of a workers’ committee member who accessed company information unlawfully and                            used it in a hearing and was dismissed for theft of information.

In another case, the workers’ committee organised a strike over an alleged health hazard thinking it was within their rights and they got the workers’ dismissed as all the striking workers were not directly affected by the hazard.

In another case, the workers’ committee advised a worker not to receive disciplinary process papers and not to attend the hearing thereafter. The hearing went ahead and the worker was subsequently dismissed and his appeal was dismissed on grounds that he had denied himself the right to be heard.

The list of such cases is a very long one. The golden rule is that every new workers’ committee must be properly trained by a competent trainer in worker leadership. The trainer must be someone who understands labour relations, labour legislation and above all, workplace environment.

Key areas of coverage should be what makes the job of the workers leader from both an applied and a legal perspective. The workers’ committee has a duty to represent workers’ interests before management. When we talk of workers’ interest, we are looking at the workers aggregating the workers’ issues and presenting such issues before management. We are also looking at the workers’ committee playing an advisory role to both management and workers.

At works council, which is a legal forum for engagement between the workers and the employer, the workers’ committee is expected to properly prepare and present real issues affecting employees. They should avoid the temptation of being a begging committee. A member of the workers’ committee who has had no legal training should not transform himself into a “lawyer” and give workers defective legal advice as that could easily disadvantage the workers and in worse cases dismissal.

In conclusion, for the workers’ committee to add value, all its members must be properly trained before they start functioning as this is both in the interest of the workers and the employer.

-Davies Ndumiso Sibanda can be contacted on:
email: [email protected]
Or cell No: 0772 375 235

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