social protection

BVTA Press Statement on the International Workers Day

01 May, 2023 Bulawayo Vendors and Traders Association (BVTA) today joins Zimbabwe and the whole world in commemorating the struggles and victories of workers worldwide under the theme: ”Workers Rights and Socio-Economic Justice”. On this Workers Day, BVTA honours and celebrates the hard work and dedication of all workers, particularly those in the informal economy. We recognize that the informal sector plays a vital role in providing livelihoods for millions of people across the country, and we commend the resilience and commitment of informal workers in the face of numerous challenges. We celebrate men, women and children who are trying to eke a living in the informal economy under punitive working conditions. We are aggrieved that it is common to work 10 to 16-hour days in hazardous and unsafe spaces in the informal economy, there is lack of social security, lack of medical health schemes and poor infrastructure. As BVTA, we remain committed to advocating for the rights of informal workers, including fair wages, decent working conditions, and access to social protections. We call upon the government, employers, and society to recognise and value the contributions of informal workers and take tangible steps to improve their conditions. We commit to complement the government and partner with the private sector to support informal workers with access to credit, capacity building and formalisation opportunities. Employers should also provide fair wages and safe working conditions, while society should appreciate and acknowledge the role of informal workers in the economy. We implore the government and its various agencies that support informal economy workers to up ante and build a more equitable society that values the contributions and rights of all informal workers. We wish all workers a happy and fulfilling Workers’ Day! Twitter – @bvtatrust Facebook Page – Bulawayo Vendors and Traders Association Facebook – Bulawayo Vendors Trust Website – www.bvtatrust.org

BVTA Press Statement on the International Workers Day Read More »

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

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