BVTA Press Statement on UN Committee on the Elimination of Racial Discrimination findings

01 September, 2022 Bulawayo Vendors and Traders Association (BVTA) applauds the United Nations (UN) Committee on the Elimination of Racial Discrimination on issuing its findings on countries including Zimbabwe, whose main concerns and recommendations are on the International Convention on the Elimination of all forms of Racial Discrimination. BVTA concedes the UN Committee’s concern that legislation on protection of labour rights and prevention of discrimination in Zimbabwe does not explicitly cover the informal economy and domestic work. BVTA concurs with the committee on that informal sector workers especially women are the majority players in economy and are not fully protected. Work in the informal economy is often characterized by small or undefined work places, unsafe and unhealthy working conditions, low levels of skills and productivity, low or irregular incomes, long working hours and lack of access to information, markets, finance, training and technology. Some workers in the informal economy are not recognized, registered, regulated or protected under labour legislation and social protection. We concur with the Committee’s request on Zimbabwe to amend its labour laws to explicitly cover the informal sector and domestic work and take measures to address discrimination on the intersecting grounds of race, class and gender in all areas of employment. We also acknowledge efforts by the government of Zimbabwe on developing the Informal Economy Transitioning Strategy as a step in the right direction. We are encouraged to continue advocating for the improvement of working conditions of informal economy workers and the findings demonstrate that our message is getting the attention it deserves. Twitter – @bvtatrust Facebook Page – Bulawayo Vendors and Traders Association Facebook – Bulawayo Vendors Trust Website – www.bvtatrust.org

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