The Right of Private Sector Employees to Freedom of Association in Zimbabwe: A Comparative Diagnostic-Prognostic Perspective

The right to freedom of association is very crucial in labour law since all the other employees‟ rights are anchored on it. This book is within the purview on labour law which focusses, primarily, on the right of private sector employees to freedom of association in Zimbabwe. It further undertakes a critical comparative analysis of South African labour law and Zimbabwean labour law, respectively, with a view to identifying the weaknesses and gaps in the Zimbabwean law with a view to proffering recommendations for the improvement of the right to freedom of association for private sector employees in Zimbabwe. The book traces the development of the right to freedom of association, by way of establishing a context and situating itself in the stream of time, as it were, from the pre-colonial to the post-colonial period. It highlights the fact that politics and socio-economic conditions of any given period have shaped labour law together with the right of employees to freedom of association. The promulgation of the Zimbabwean Constitution in 2013 brought significant changes to the employees‟ right to freedom of association as it elevated the rights to organise, to bargain collectively and to strike into the Declaration of Rights under section 65 thereof. The impact of constitutionalisation of these components of the right to freedom of association is evaluated in the book. It also assesses the impact of international human rights law and labour law on the development of the right of private sector employees to freedom of association in Zimbabwe. The provisions of the Labour Act on the right of employees to freedom of association in Zimbabwe are also discussed herein. The book takes a comparative analysis with the provisions of the Labour Relations Act in South Africa. It then concludes by making recommendations on vi how the gaps and weaknesses in the Zimbabwean law on the right of private sector employees to freedom of association can be addressed. The book reflects the law as at 10 January 2022.