Wayne
Ncube
The Parliamentary
Portfolio Committees on Public Service, Labor and Social Welfare (PSLSW) as
well as the Women Affairs, Gender, Community, Small and Medium Enterprises
Development (WACSMED) will hold joint public consultations on sexual harassment
in Masvingo on June 01.
The public hearing will
be held at Rutenga growth point in Mwenenzi district, on Hevoi FM radio and at Mucheke
Hall on the same day.
A report presented by
the PSLSW states that in terms Section 149 of the Constitution, the Portfolio
on PSLSW and WACSMED received a petition from Emthonjeni Women’s Forum
imploring Parliament to review Chapter 28: 1 of the Labor Act in order to
strengthen provisions that seek to curb sexual harassment in the work place.
It also states that the
petitioners called for ratification of the International Labor Organization
Convention No. 190 concerning the elimination of violence and harassment in the
world of work.
The Committees noticed
that sexual harassment was rampant and was not limited to the work place,
therefore the need for a comprehensive inquiry.
“The objective of the
public hearing is to ascertain the prevalence of sexual harassment in the country
and its impact on victims and society in general; to solicit public views on
whether the Labor Act and the other laws adequately address issues of sexual
harassment in the work place.
“It assesses the
available framework and process of securing redress; and to gather public views
on measures that can be taken to curb sexual harassment at all levels of
society,” reads the report.
The committee will be
conducting public hearings on sexual harassment and law from Monday May 31 –
Friday June 2021 in Mutare, Bulawayo, Harare, Nyika,
Kadoma, Marondera, Magunje and Plumtree.
