AFRICA - House Foreign Affairs Committee Democrats

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rating economy also is forcing more children to work. Although child labor in the
agricultural, domestic, and informal sectors increasingly is discussed, the Government
and NGO’s have been unable to gather concrete data on the number of cases.
In November 1999, Parliament ratified ILO Convention 182 on the worst forms
of child labor, and during the year, it was incorporated into the Child Adoption and
Protection Bill, which had not been implemented by year’s end. In September, the
Government released the results of an ILO-funded study on child labor in the country.
The worst forms of child labor, such as child sweatshops and child prostitution,
are not widely practiced in the country. The police frequently enforce laws against
child prostitution.
The law prohibits forced and bonded labor by children; however, the traditional
practice of offering a young girl as compensatory payment in interfamily disputes
continued (see Sections 5 and 6.c.), and there were reports that children were trafficked
from the country to South Africa for forced prostitution and forced labor (see
Section 6.f.).
e. Acceptable Conditions of Work.—The maximum legal workweek is 54 hours, and
the law prescribes a minimum of one 24-hour rest period per week. Working conditions
are regulated by the Government on an industry-specific basis. The Constitution
empowers the PSC to set conditions of employment in the public sector. The
Government eliminated a national minimum wage as part of the Economic Structural
Adjustment Program of 1990, with the exception of agricultural and domestic
workers. Government regulations for each of the 22 industrial sectors continue to
specify minimum wages, hours, holidays, and required safety measures. In recent
years, in an effort to opt out of the wage bargaining system, the Government mandated
wage parameters for industries. Due to an ineffective monitoring system,
many agricultural and domestic workers are remunerated below the minimum
wage. The minimum wage for agricultural workers is $24 (Zim $1650) per month,
and for domestic workers is $41 (Zim $2900).
Minimum wages in the formal sector changed continuously as a result of multiple
increases in salaries to offset the inflation rate. In almost all cases, however, wage
increases did not keep pace with inflation, devaluations, and the increases in the
prices of petroleum products and basic food staples. A major goal of the ZCTU during
the year was to encourage Government to again establish a national minimum
wage but it did not reach an agreement with the Government by year’s end. The
minimum wage does not provide a decent standard of living for a worker and his
family, and at least 70 percent of the population reportedly lives below the poverty
line.
In April civil servants were granted 60 to 90 percent pay raises, with the lowest
paid positions receiving the largest percentage raises. While broadly viewed as an
effort by the Government to buy the votes of the civil servants in the elections, these
raises were also viewed as necessary by the ZCTU because of the traditionally low
level of civil servant salaries. In October the Ministry of Public Service, Labor, and
Social Welfare (MPSLSW) announced a new regulation prohibiting civil servants
from engaging in any for-profit enterprises. The Government alleged that many
workers were operating their own for-profit enterprises instead of attending to official
duties during the workday as the reason for the regulation; however, many civil
servants contested that they needed to do so to earn a livable wage.
According to the ZCTU, some employers take advantage of illegal refugees for inexpensive
labor. Because the job market is worse in neighboring countries such as
Malawi and Mozambique, the refugees are willing to risk arrest and work for wages
below the legal minimums (see Section 2.d.).
Many of the basic legal protections do not apply to the vast majority of farm,
mine, and domestic workers. Health and safety standards are determined only on
an industry-specific basis. Despite the lack of general standards, the National Social
Security Authority’s (NSSA) statistics from 1999 show a decrease in the number of
occupational injuries and deaths. There were 139 fatal job accidents reported during
1999, a decrease from 1998, and 12,000 occupational injuries were reported in 1999.
In theory, labor relations officers from the MPSLSW are assigned to monitor developments
in each plant to ensure that government minimum wage policy and occupational
health and safety regulations are observed. In practice these offices are
understaffed, cannot afford to inspect routinely workplaces, and must rely on voluntary
compliance and reporting by employers.
The Government designated the Zimbabwe Occupational Safety Council (ZOSHC)
to regulate safe work conditions. The ZOSHC is a quasi-governmental, advisory
body comprised of six representatives each from the Government, employers, and
trade unions. The National Director of the ZOSHC is responsible for enforcing worker
safety regulations. The director reports weekly to the MPSLSW on actions taken.
Budgetary restraints and staffing shortages, as well as its status as an advisory
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