Online Reporter
The Herald, 7 July 1983
EIGHT Air Zimbabwe hostesses suspended last week for being pregnant have been fired, the House of Assembly was told yesterday.
The minister of Transport, Farai Masango, said during question time that eight had been fired because it was illegal for air hostesses to become pregnant.
However, he said the hostesses were free to reapply for their jobs after they had given birth, and their cases would be considered on merit.
The Minister who faced a barrage of questions from MPs, said all air hostesses were required to sign a contract on recruitment which clearly stipulated the terms and conditions of their work in view of the “unique and demanding nature” of their job.
Among these conditions was one that stipulated that if an air hostess became pregnant during the term of her contract, her services should be terminated after three months.
This was “because it is considered medically unfit for both the would-be mother and unborn baby to be subjected to the strain of flying” he said.
In view of these reasons and the need for a stable and reliable workforce “in that line of operation”, it was the corporation’s policy to employ only single people as air hostesses.
“In the event of marriage, the air hostesses may be retained in service at the sole discretion of the corporation,” Cde Masango said. He expressed concern at the rate of pregnancies involving air hostesses, which he said had increased “alarmingly” since independence.
In the past, because number of pregnancies the corporation had been able to redeploy pregnant hostesses into posts in other divisions where their alternative skills could be utilised, provided there was a budgeted vacancy in that division.
Lessons for today
- Workplace policies must balance safety and human rights. The corporation justified dismissing pregnant hostesses on health and safety grounds. Today, while employers still have a duty to protect workers and unborn children, outright dismissal because of pregnancy is widely viewed as discriminatory. Modern workplaces generally seek alternatives such as reassignment, modified duties, or maternity leave.
- The article reflects a period when pregnancy was seen as incompatible with certain professions. For example If you fell pregnant while still training courses like nursing and teaching you would be dismissed. One of the key lessons today is that becoming pregnant should not force women to choose between motherhood and employment.
- The central lesson from this 1983 story is that workplaces function best when they protect employee health while also respecting dignity, equality, and the right to continue a career regardless of family circumstances. It illustrates how labour policies have evolved from exclusionary approaches toward greater inclusion and protection of workers’ rights.
- Zimbabwe’s Constitution prohibits discrimination based on gender, and labour laws provide maternity protection for employees. Women are entitled to maternity leave, and dismissal because of pregnancy is considered unfair and unlawful.
