BE ADVOCATES EMPLOYMENT BILL IN PARLIAMENT

MBABANE – Business Eswatini (BE) will be making their comments on the controversial Employment Bill in Parliament tomorrow.

The Employment Bill has been undergoing reform since 2005 and with the world of work dynamically changing in the past few years; it has become increasingly crucial for the country to come up with an Employment Bill that is fit-for-purpose, especially in light of the country’s undertakings under International Labour Organisation’s (ILO) decent work country programme.

Educate

As such, BE, in their 10th edition of the Annual Labour Law Seminar held recently put the Employment Bill on the spotlight, aiming to educate its members on the bill while scrutinising its shortcomings that need to be reviewed before it is passed as law. In as statement issued yesterday, BE management highlighted that the bill was not entirely without its positives, such as seen in the proposed terms for probation which is under Section 22 in the bill. BE management said however, employers were most concerned with the areas that could cause a negative impact in the business environment, such as the prohibition of labour broking which if passed into law as proposed in Section 129 together with the provisions which outlaw outsourcing and subcontracting of what was termed as core business as scripted in Section 130, can cause unintended and disastrous outcomes in the business space. “Mass retrenchments and unemployment are possible effects,” read the statement.  “However, as Business Eswatini we are grateful for the opportunity to bring the organisation’s comments before Parliament on a certificate of urgency,” said BE management.

Confident

The apex private sector representative body in the kingdom, said they were confident that the Parliament would pay heed to their (BE) plea and consider their submission, as they often did. In a previous interview, Montigny Investments Chief Executive Officer (CEO) Andrew Le Roux said the proposed Employment Bill was placing hundreds of liSwati-owned businesses, thousands of employees and millions in investments at risk. Le Roux said Section 130 of the Bill makes it very clear that an employer shall not outsource or sub-contract any part or the whole of the employer’s core business to third parties, and especially all work that requires continuous performance

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