The Minister for Labour Industrial Relations and Employment Mr Filipe Bole cautioned employers not to dismiss any worker on unwarranted grounds but fully adhere to provisions of the Employment Relations Promulgations when making decisions.
This comes after his ministry received rising number of complaints on dismissals, classified as unfair.
Mr Bole said workers should not be dismissed for demanding their right wages and entitlements relative to their contracts or collective agreements, either of which should not be below the minimum labour standards under the ERP laws pertaining to minimum wages, overtime pay, holiday pay, maternity leave, sick leave, bereavement leave and any other provisions they are entitled to under the law.
The minister appealed to employers to respect rights of workers and pay them their proper wages and entitlements and to exercise good faith in the resolution of workers’ grievances. Mr Bole encouraged employers to entertain the provision of dismissal only as the last resort after providing the necessary counselling and fair warning to workers.
In any event of dismissal, the employer must clearly state reasons for dismissing any worker, including the case for summary dismissal.
Mr Bole advised workers that they could raise their employment grievances with the Ministry of Labour’s mediation service if they believed they had been unfairly dismissed, discriminated, sexually harassed or been disadvantaged due to a decision of the employer, including being forced to join or not to join a trade union.
The minister said the privilege of a worker to access the mediation service could only be entertained under the employment relations laws if the worker had exhausted the internal grievance procedure with the employer at the enterprise level.
All employees have been reminded to maintain their work ethics and be faithful in performing their duties in order to develop and sustain a decent, productive and safe and healthy working environment.
Mr Bole urged employers to thoroughly observe and comply with the provisions of the new Labour laws and accordingly minimise employee grievances by engaging in active good faith and positive dialogue.
The ministry, he adds is attentive to the employees grievances and thus is effectively working on a speedy and fair resolution of all cases.
Mr Bole reminded employers that workers were the most important assets of any organisation because of their creative potential to significantly add wealth to their goods and services, thereby boosting productivity and profitability, not only at the enterprise but also at national level.
Therefore, how an employer develops workers to achieve their full potential is the very aim of the new employment relations laws.
The spirit of the new laws is the promotion and enhancement of good faith employment relationships between employers and workers, with dismissal to be entertained only as the very last resort.