PARTIES to the Tripartite Negotiating Forum (TNF) are meeting in Victoria Falls for a three-day social dialogue retreat which is expected to be graced by 13-line ministries on Thursday.
The retreat started on Tuesday with attendance drawn from trade unions making up organised labour and business, private employer, Government and other partners.
It will end Thursday.
Ministers are expected to descend on Victoria Falls today ahead of the Thursday meeting where deliberations will be centred on cementing social agreements to prevent strikes and industrial actions as a result of disagreements around conditions of service.
The Ministry of Public Service, Labour and Social Welfare is hosting the event with Minister Professor Paul Mavima expected to deliver the keynote address.
The TNF retreat comes at a time when Government and social partners are working hard to come up with a social dialogue mechanism to encourage workers to dedicate time and effort to work without engaging in strikes and industrial action.
Social dialogue is supported by an Act of Parliament, the Tripartite Negotiating Forum Act which was inaugurated in 2020, following its launch by President Mnangagwa in June 2019.
The Act seeks to reignite and foster social dialogue, as the Second Republic ushered in a new philosophy of leaving no one and no place behind.
According to the programme, the theme for the occasion is: “Advancing social dialogue towards accelerated and inclusive Socio-Economic development.”
Discussions will be around key Social Dialogue Priorities for 2023 and there will be solidarity messages from key partners such as the International Labour Organisation, organised labour and organised business.
The Ministries expected at the retreat are hosts Public Service, Information, Publicity and Broadcasting Services, Transport and infrastructural Development, Energy and Power Development, Finance and Economic Development, Justice, Legal and Parliamentary Affairs, Industry and Commerce, Mines and Mining Development, Primary and Secondary Education, Health and Child Care, Higher and Tertiary Education, Science and Technology, Women’s Affairs, Community, Small and Medium Enterprises and the Lands, Agriculture, Fisheries, Water and Rural Development. – The Chronicle
