IN a move set to reshape workplace advocacy, labour experts this week launched the Association of Labour Practitioners in Zimbabwe (ALPZ), a new organisation dedicated to strengthening workers’ rights and fostering fairer employer-employee relations nationwide.
The newly formed body, established under the umbrella of the African Labour Society, seeks to deepen understanding of labour laws and promote knowledge-sharing among professionals across the continent.
Speaking at ALPZ’s inaugural launch in Harare this week, the association's chairperson Caleb Mucheche outlined the association’s mission: to advance social justice, mediate workplace disputes, and push for progressive labour law reforms.
“Our core mandate is to promote workplace harmony, defend workers’ rights, and engage the government to improve labour policies,” Mucheche declared.
“We will also roll out nationwide education programmes to ensure employees know their rights and how to seek redress.”
His speech struck a defiant tone, framing ALPZ’s launch as a rallying cry for Zimbabwe’s workforce.
“This is a wake-up call for the working class to unite against exploitation. Workers deserve job security, dignity, and protection from capitalist oppression,” he said, drawing applause.
Mucheche emphasised the judiciary’s pivotal role in safeguarding labour rights, though he noted judges themselves enjoy constitutionally guaranteed job security until age 75—a privilege most Zimbabwean workers lack.
“We hope ALPZ will inspire a new era of progressive labour jurisprudence,” he added.
The launch coincided with the 11th anniversary of Zimbabwe’s 2013 Constitution, which enshrined key labour protections after a landslide referendum approval.
Reflecting on Zimbabwe’s painful labour history, Mucheche detailed how colonial-era laws between 1890 and 1980 brutalised Black workers.
“For 90 years, workers endured cruelty under racist policies,” he said.
“That oppression fuelled nationalism—icons such as Benjamin Burombo, Masotsha Ndlovu, Joshua Nkomo, George Silundika, Jason Moyo, Mayor Urimbo, and Leopold Takawira, and trade unionists emerged from this struggle.”
With Zimbabwe’s economy still faltering, ALPZ vows to ensure workers’ voices are heard. “The fight for fairness continues,” Mucheche asserted.
