The Minister of Public Service, Labour and Social Welfare, Professor Paul Mavima, has said that it is illegal for employers to send workers on forced, unpaid leave during the coronavirus induced national lockdown.
This comes amid reports that some companies have since forced some of their workforces on indefinite-forced-unpaid leave while others have retrenched some workers as a strategy to remain afloat.
In a statement to mark the International Workers’ Day, the minister said:
There should be no unlawful terminations or procedural retrenchments during the lockdown period.
My ministry stands to provide technical advice on issues regarding workplace measures to cope with Covid-19.
He said that the leaves and retrenchments should be done through negotiations and should also be agreed by the concerned employees, not unilateral declarations.
The lockdown cut some citizens’ sources of income thereby exacerbating the preexisting socioeconomic crisis in the country.
More: The Herald