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1 INTERVENTION BY THE MINISTER OF LABOUR AND SOCIAL WELFARE OF ZIMBABWE, HONOURABLE PETRONELLA KAGONYE (M.P.), ON THE REPORT OF THE ILO DIRECTOR GENERAL AT THE 107 TH SESSION OF THE INTERNATIONAL LABOUR CONFERENCE 4 JUNE 2018, MORNING SESSION PLENARY HALL UNITED NATIONS BUILDING 1

2 Chairperson, On behalf of the Government of Zimbabwe and the entire Zimbabwean tripartite delegation to this 107th session of the International Labour Conference, I wish to begin my address by congratulating you, Hon. Samir Murad, together with the Vice Chairs, on your election to preside over this session of the Conference. Your appointment meets with our high expectations for the outcomes of this important session, which comes on the eve of our Centenary celebrations and most importantly as we seek to understand and chaperon the future regarding the world of work. It is with this in mind that my delegation welcomes the Director General's Report - "The Women at work Initiative: The push for equality". The Report before us aptly captures the situation of women at work and proffers some insightful ideas towards embracing the opportunities, the challenges and the threats that define the context in which the impetus for equality must succeed. Indeed, your report Director General presents a painful and hard truth that attainment of equality in the world of work remains a pipe dream despite the existence of policy and legislation at national level as well as International Instruments that are primed to guide efforts in mitigating the plight of women in the world of work. At this defining moment, when the ILO celebrates 100 years in existence, our resolve in tackling the challenges to equality outlined in your report should be unwavering. 2

3 Chairperson, my delegation appreciates the dilemma of the new opportunities to breaking the barriers to inequality brought about by the digital economy and technological innovation, which unfortunately as your report suggest are not immune to gender inequalities. It is imperative therefore for the future of work initiative to tackle the issue of mitigating the traps of inequality abound in the evolving fourth industrial revolution. I find it central to reiterate the Director General's call for "a new push for equality as we embrace the future and steer the ILO and its Constituents to upscale efforts towards equality. Our focus on fixing the workplace without seeking to influence society has proved to be futile given the changing dynamics of the world of work ushered by the evolving 4 th Industrial revolution characterised by cyber physical systems. We therefore urge the ILO to innovatively confront head on, the value systems of our society regarding gender relations that constitute the greatest structural obstacles weighing down our efforts in attaining equality in the world of work. On our part in Zimbabwe, section 17 of the Constitution provides for a strong legal foundation for gender equity and women advancement. We are currently seized with amending the labour legislation to among other objectives, give full effect to the principle of equal pay for work of equal value as well as broadening the scope of equality with a view to aligning it to the provisions of Section 17 of our Constitution. It is our hope that sector specific collective bargaining agreements will accordingly be amended to give full effect to principles of equality at the workplace. 3

4 We have also revised our education curriculum to ensure that it includes mainstreaming of gender issues. In that regard gender, issues are now taught from early childhood up to secondary education level. The idea is to instil values on gender that will transform future societal values that guarantee equality beyond the workplace. The National Gender Policy was revised in 2017 to give impetus to efforts for gender equality taking into consideration deficiencies highlighted in the last Zimbabwe Demographic Health Survey and CEDAW reports. Through the revised National Gender Policy, a monitoring and evaluation framework dealing specifically with Gender Equality and Women Empowerment is being finalised to enable the national gender machinery to monitor and assess implementation of national, regional and international commitments on gender equality and women empowerment. Chairperson, the new dispensation in Zimbabwe seeks to prioritise economic recovery through a battery of initiatives anchored on reengagement with the International community and the restoration of international values that will create more opportunities for our people and decent work for women in particular. Your proposal in pushing for equality encapsulated in the mantra beyond business as usual is sync with the calls of the new establishment in Zimbabwe. We agree with your recommendations that raising the voices and representation of women and ending violence and harassment are crucial in forging a push towards equality. Accordingly, the new Government has put in place measures to guarantee a 4

5 conducive environment necessary for equality and increased representation of women. Chairperson, the time has certainly come that the ILO imprints a solid front towards equality, recognising that the world of work is situated in a changing context characterised by unprecedented political, social and economic uncertainties. I thank you. 5