Tobacco companies ordered to pay gratuity to seasonal workers

THE National Employment Council (NEC) for the Tobacco Industry has ordered employers to pay gratuity to seasonal employees who have served for three consecutive years, in a move aimed at plugging long-standing loopholes in the sector.

The latest Collective Bargaining Agreement (CBA) comes as a blow to unscrupulous employers in the miscellaneous tobacco sector, covering auction floors, grading and processing, who have reportedly been offering employment contracts as short as two weeks or one month to avoid paying workers their due benefits.

In Zimbabwe, gratuity is a terminal benefit governed by sector-specific National Employment Councils (NECs) and Collective Bargaining Agreements (CBAs), rather than a single blanket national statute.

Workers employed under such short-term contracts would previously receive no gratuity because they were classified as seasonal contractors.

The arrangement was, however, allegedly being abused by employers who would repeatedly hire the same group of workers for periods exceeding five years while withholding gratuity on the basis that they remained seasonal employees.

The latest CBA, signed by Zimbabwe Tobacco Industry Workers Union (ZTIWU) General Secretary Emmanuel Mariro on behalf of employees and Terrence Kwaramba, chairman of the sector’s employers association, strengthens protections for seasonal workers.

“This further agreement is made and entered into in accordance with the provisions of the Labour Act (Chapter 28:0) between the Tobacco (Miscelleneaus Industry Employers Association and the Zimbabwe Tobacco Industrial Workers Union of the part being parties to the NEC for the Industry, published in Statutory Instrument 25 of 2018 as amended shall be read as one with the principal agreement.

“Notwithstanding the provisions of sub-clause (2) and (3), no gratuity shall be paid to an employee or his /her estate under this clause if the employer has made provision for him or her of a pension or gratuity or retirement scheme. The provisions of this clause shall apply to employees on staff conditions of service in terms of clause 10,” the CBA reads in part.

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