Davies Ndumiso Sibanda

WHILE the Covid-19 lockdown has been eased and many organisations allowed to resume work and workers ready to work, the challenge is that there are a number of organisations with no work and as such workers are still at home with both the employer and workers not sure of what to do.

The reality on the ground is that despite the relaxation of the lockdown, the remaining Covid-19 rules militate against full operations as social distancing has to be exercised, work methods have to be restructured to allow for effective working while people continue to social distance. In the process, many employers have found themselves with labour they cannot utilise, tasks they cannot perform, equipment they cannot use, raw materials they cannot access and many others due to limitations imposed by Covid-19 rules.

The partial isolation of the country from the international community and the partial isolation of other countries as well has fractured the flow of business activities and one of the ripple effects of that has been the upsetting of any work that has an import component or work where markets are external. In the end, businesses and workers have becomes a victim of all this, leaving employers with no choice but to keep businesses closed despite the fact that workers are ready to work.

The big question is, what do we do with these workers that are ready to work and there is no work? Some employers have taken the simplistic approach and told workers that they can continue staying at home with no work, no pay and will be called to work when things improve. Government as well has not provided a clear direction of how to handle such situations. It has only said, employers who terminate workers have to follow the Labour Act Chapter 28:01 rules.

Those employers who have gone to works council and engaged workers over the ready to work but no work issue have faced many questions from workers and have struggled to give satisfactory and legal answers.

Some of the questions asked are, is it legal to keep us at home without pay, is it legal to deny us work when we are ready to work. Some workers have argued that given that the Government has cleared the workers to work then it is not their problem that there is no work and that they should be paid.

In my view, the legal position is that the employer has to follow the Labour Act Chapter 28:01 once the organisation is allowed to go back to work. He, however, has to balance the Labour Act and related legislation requirements on one side and the Covid-19 regulations on the other as he cannot afford to break any of them. It, therefore, means that where the employer has no work, he can approach the appropriate NEC and seek permission to keep workers on unpaid leave or to exercise his other rights as covered in the Act and regulations on measures to avoid retrenchment. Where managerial employees are involved and there is no NEC, the employer can engage the managerial Workers Committee at Works Council and secure an agreement. Where there is no managerial Workers Committee, the employer can negotiate a workable solution with the managerial employees so as to manage the period of ready to work but no work.

In conclusion, employers have to follow the law in keeping workers away from work if workers are ready to work and there is no work.

Davies Ndumiso Sibanda can be contacted on: email: [email protected]