All news for country

A bitter harvest: Child labour prevalence on tobacco farms

According to 2020 ILO/UNICEF Global Estimates, half of the over 160 million children in child labour are in sub-Saharan Africa, with 70 per cent of them in agriculture. In Zimbabwe, a week before a 2019 Ministry of Public Service, Labour, and Social Welfare child labour survey in the tobacco sector, noted that 26.3% of the children aged 5 – 15 years were involved in tobacco activities. To understand better the phenomenon, stakeholders held a week-long variety of activities recently to understand the problem in the country, share knowledge and maximise on expertise to avoid duplication of effort. It culminated into a one-day meeting to discuss the way forward.

Persons with disabilities in Technical and Vocational Education and Training (TVET) institutions and the workplace: A situational analysis

Since 2021, the ILO and UNESCO Regional Office for Southern Africa has been implementing a joint project aimed at ‘reasonable accommodation' for persons with disabilities in TVET institutions and workplaces. Among several interventions, a situational analysis was conducted in Zimbabwe to assess the extent of marginalization and discrimination of persons with disabilities in these two spaces.

ILO and AFDB target small-scale dairy farmers in Umguza

The Umguza Dairy Hub, when fully operational, holds the potential of transforming the lives and livelihoods of the targeted young people. It will give them new hope and new purpose for their community and for the future.

CO-Harare has a new Director

The ILO is very pleased to announce the appointment of Ms. Philile Masuku as the new Director of the Country Office for Zimbabwe and Namibia.

Launching the Sustainable and Resilient Enterprises (SURE) Training Programme in Bulawayo District: Empowering Growth-Oriented Enterprises for a Sustainable Future

The Sustainable and Resilient Enterprises Training Programme was launched in Bulawayo – the second largest in Zimbabwe. In addition, a six-day training programme covering a wide range of topics crucial for business success was conducted.

The SEDWAY project equips youth with technical and vocational skills

With funding from the African Development Bank (AfDB), the SEDWAY project seeks to support the Government of Zimbabwe (GoZ) to facilitate entrepreneurship and skills development through vocational and technical training for youths.

Safe Market for Decent Work and Social Justice Targets Women Informal Traders

The Sustainable Enterprise Development for Women and Youth (SEDWAY) project, being implemented by ILO with support from the African Development Bank (AfDB), the Government of Zimbabwe (GoZ), and the Masvingo City Council is promoting gender equality through access to safe markets for women informal traders in the city’s high-density suburb of Chesvingo. This is intended to promote safe working environment for women in the informal economy especially, because, as the main participants in this sector, they have perennially been exposed to decent work deficits in the form of exposure to extreme weather conditions, clashes with local authority police, harassment by the public, lack of child-care facilities, and limited access to health-care due to their low income-levels.

Workplace training manual on violence and sexual harassment is launched in Zimbabwe

A training manual was developed under the Spotlight Initiative which gives guidance on workplace policy, programme development and implementation to end workplace violence and harassment. It seeks to address its drivers, strengthen preventative responses, and support reporting mechanisms as well as outline the role of gender champions.

Equipping domestic workers for decent work through training

After winning the 2020 ILO Skills Innovation Challenge Call, Mendy Lerato Lusaba’s Domestic Workers Association Centre has not only enhanced capacities of domestic workers to be more fit for purpose, but she has also expanded their skills to enable them to access formal employment in the hotel and hospitality sectors and qualify for certified care-work overseas.

Promoting a whole-of-government approach to address decent work deficits in the informal economy in Zimbabwe.

After two years of nation-wide consultations, coordinated in collaboration with the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP Zimbabwe), the ILO supported the Ministry of Public Service, Labour, and Social Welfare to review the proposed National Strategy on the Formalization of the Informal Economy. In a bid to promote a whole-of-government approach to addressing decent work deficits in the informal economy in the country, thirty-five government officials from strategic ministries and government institutions were brought together for the review process.

Opportunities for decent work for women and youth and improved productivity for MSMEs in the Zimbabwe construction sector

The project seeks to improve the productivity of micro, small and medium construction enterprises, and to contribute towards addressing decent work deficits among vulnerable workers through decent working conditions and putting onto effect their labour rights. The project’s main target groups are particularly women and youth in Southern Africa.

Promoting financial education in Zimbabwe: the experience from an ILO certified trainer

Shalom Govero is an ILO certified financial education trainer based in Harare, Zimbabwe. Since 2016 she has been delivering financial education primarily through radio, with over 200 radio programs broadcasted with two privately owned stations and one state broadcaster. In this article, she shares her experiences using various platforms to disseminate financial messages to Zimbabweans.

Spotlight Interviews with Co-operators

StreetNet International: Organizing street vendors towards formalization and economic empowerment

“Spotlight Interviews with Co-operators” is a series of interviews with co-operators from around the world with whom ILO officials have crossed paths in the course of their work on cooperatives and the wider social and solidarity economy (SSE). On this occasion, ILO interviewed Lorraine Ndlovu, President of the Zimbabwe Chamber of Informal Economy Associations (ZCIEA), President of StreetNet International and a board member of Women in Informal Economy Globalizing Organizing (WIEGO).

The Model Workplace Programme champions SGBV and Harassment in the workplace in Zimbabwe!

The Country Office is participating in the Spotlight Initiative – an EU supported programme, which is a global partnership to eliminate all forms of violence against women and girls. The programme is an integrated package of interventions across six pillars which are: legislative and policy frameworks; institutional strengthening; prevention and social norms; delivery of quality essential services; data availability and capacities and supporting the women’s movement.

ILO Regional Director for Africa Visits AfDB-ILO Custom Mercury Free Gold Milling Plant in Zimbabwe

As part of her mission to Zimbabwe, the Assistant Director General and Regional Director of the ILO, Ms Cynthia Samuel-Olonjuwon, visited an AfDB funded project site in Guruve district, where the ILO has supported the establishment of a custom mercury free gold milling plant.

CO-Harare goes on retreat

After more than two and half years of being compelled to working from home, due to COVID-19, CO-Harare staff fully returned to the office on 4 August 2022. The uneasiness and distance that WfH created among staff was undeniable and necessitated an Office-wide staff retreat. CO-Harare staff based in Namibia, both recruited during the COVID-19 pandemic, had their first opportunity to meet face-to-face with colleagues in Zimbabwe.

Zimbabwe signs its Decent Work Country Programme, 2022 – 2026

Zimbabwe has signed its fourth generation of the DWCP 2022 -2026. The document is aligned to the Abidjan Declaration, the Zimbabwe United Nations Sustainable Development Cooperation Framework, 2022-2026, and constituents’ priorities.

Support of AfDB to ILO work is growing

The AfDB has availed funding for yet another four-year project aimed at adding value to horticultural produce and gemstones in three districts, establish safe markets for women in urban centres and support access to markets by rural dairy farmers.

Government commits to ratifying the Convention concerning the elimination of Violence and Harassment in the world of work

Zimbabwe is on course to ratify C190 following a common position by the tripartite partners at a social dialogue forum

Law enforcement officers sensitized on Freedom of Association and the Right to Strike to organize and collective bargaining conventions

Since 2015, the ILO Supervisory Bodies received cases of arrests of trade union leaders and their members during their conduct of trade union business related to mainly demonstrations and or strike action. Sixty-nine law enforcement officers were taken on a two-day sensitization and capacity enhancement exercise on Conventions 87 and 98 and how they intersect with the Maintenance of Peace and Order Act.