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ZIMBABWE could turn into an investment destination of choice if the proposed labour law reforms sail through, a leading Bulawayo-based labour law expert Davis Ndumiso Sibanda said. The labour legislation “is under stress”, he said, and has been partly blamed for stifling investment as evidenced by the rampant labour disputes and litigations against firms by disgruntled workers.

“Our labour Act is not investor friendly. It’s hoped that once we reform our labour laws we could actually be one of the destinations of choice for investment,” said Sibanda.

He said as things stand now foreign investors were reluctant to invest in the country arguing that “the cost of labour is quite high”.

“If you want to pick and drop labour in Zimbabwe it’s an expensive process. Those are some of the reasons motivating the proposed labour law reforms and again the Labour Act can’t deal with a number of things that are happening now,” said Sibanda.

He said the review of labour laws by the government, which has been endorsed by the business community and is awaiting drafting of a Bill by the Attorney General’s office, was long overdue.

“The Act we have can’t tackle issues of wage reductions. Most of the wage reductions are justified given business performance but they violate individual contracts.

“There’s no proper machinery of how to fairly reduce people’s salaries. As a result some are over reduced, some are reduced without consultation and some are reduced through threats,” said Sibanda.

He urged employers to engage their workers in a mutual manner on developments regarding the performance of the firm while there is still time and involve them in measures of dealing with the situation.

“Often the employer just comes with a chop and that’s it and the workers who get retrenched, it’s a question of saying ‘if you don’t take this voluntary one you might go home with nothing’. The workers are just picking something and once they’re outside, the promised payment dates aren’t honoured,’ said Sibanda adding that such developments are the cause of rampant litigations against employers.

He, however, said most aggrieved workers were getting a raw deal as they cannot afford legal costs.

Cabinet approved proposed labour law reforms in December 2014, paving way for the introduction of productivity linked wages.

Industrialists and economic experts demand that a review of the country’s labour laws should take into account economic challenges that continue to impinge on productivity levels for most companies.

Sibanda said the labour disputes were compounded by an incapacitated Ministry of Public Service, Labour and Social Welfare, which is failing to handle the cases as stipulated at law.

He also blasted “incompetent” arbitrators who have become a letdown to workers.

Sibanda said public institutions such as local authorities and parastatals were not spared as they have also been affected by retrenchments and wage payment disputes that have crippled service delivery in some areas.

The labour disputes across the different sectors of the economy have also been blamed for the loss of skilled workforce to the Diaspora.

Given these challenges, Sibanda urged employers to manage their payrolls in a manner that will ensure their costs do not sink business operations.

“If things go wrong, it’s better to engage workers and bite the bullet. Negotiate the measures that will give company breathing space and allow everybody to continue benefiting,” he said.

The crafting of the new labour laws is envisaged to introduce production efficiencies in the economy and measures that will usher increased productivity at the firm level.

Among the reforms is the proposal that collective bargaining be done at company level so that wages and salaries agreed on are realistic and take into account productivity levels at company level.

The government has already taken a decision to reduce excessive wage bills of parastatals and local authorities and is also streamlining public service recruitment.