Farm workers to sue government

The National Employment Council for the Agricultural Industry of Zimbabwe on Saturday said it would take legal action against the government for unfair labour practices against farm workers, news reports said.

Secretary General of the Council Douglas Mutembwa was quoted by the ZIANA news agency as saying that the government was neglecting its role as the new employer on farms it was acquiring in the resettlement program. “The government must pay compensation to the farm workers or give them retrenchment packages as their new employer,” said Mutembwa.

He said the organization was not against the land redistribution process, but wanted the government to honour its responsibility according to the Labour Relations Act. He said they considered the action taken by the government to ignore the farm workers as illegal retrenchment.