By ANDREW MUKOMA
THE Ministry of Labour and Social Security has noted with concern about some unscrupulous persons masquerading as labour consultants who are providing false, inaccurate and misleading information to employers on leave days accruals and commutation.
The Ministry has disclosed that the said unscrupulous persons are misleading employees that they are not permitted to proceed on annual leave, a position wrongly attributed to the Ministry and is completely bereft of any legal reasoning.
Labour Commissioner Givens Muntengwa has charged that the Miniatry is sad to learn that some companies have proceeded to act on the falechoods perpetuated by these charlatans who have even gone an extra mile by stating that the Ministry of Labour and Social Security abolished annual leave in 2020 and that employeos are, therefore not eligible to accrue annual leave days.
This is contained in a statement released to the Daily Nation by Joseph Chinyama, from the Public Relations Unit signed by Mr Muntengwa.
“To the contrary, the Ministry af Labour and Social Security would like to guide the employers and employees that the Ministry has never abolished annual leave days,” he said.
“Our guidance to the employers and employees is that the Tripartite Labour Council resolved on May 7, 2020, to exempt the provisions of sections 96 and 37 of the ‘Employment Code Act regarding annual leave and accrual leave benefits.
He stated that this did not in any way outlaw the management of leave which is embodied in ‘various agreements including the statutory instruments,” Mr Muntengwa said
The Labour Commissioner disclosed that the only reason the sections were exempted was that there were fundamental errors in the said sections which ultimately rendered the same sections practically impossible to implement.
“For purposes of clarity, section 96 of the Employment Code Act provides for non carrying forward of leave days and requires employers to compensate employees for annual leave days at the end of each year,” he said.
To that end, annual leave and annual leave benefit provisions are currently governed by the terms and conditions of a contract or collective bargaining ‘agreement or minimum conditions of employment statutory instruments.
“Overall, the employers and employees are implored to get free and sound guidance from the Ministry of Labour and Social Security on labour matters,” the Commissioner said.
