Online Reporter
Martin Kadzere
Momentum is building within the Tripartite Negotiating Forum (TNF), a key platform bringing together Government, business, and labour, following the recent strengthening of its secretariat, executive director Mr Albert Nyakadzumbu says.
The secretariat has already begun developing the crucial National Social Contract Framework, designed to articulate shared commitments among Government, business, and labour regarding economic stabilisation, wages, prices, productivity, investment, and social protection, and will serve as the guiding document for national social dialogue over the medium term.
This will be complemented by its active participation in the National Formalisation Strategy, to address challenges of the country’s informal economy, which official statistics place at about 85,5 percent.
Another crucial deliverable is the new Occupational Safety and Health (OSH) policy, intended to safeguard working conditions across all workplaces. Furthermore, the TNF will craft an Economic and Labour Reform Agenda for the period 2025–2030. The agenda aims to consolidate priority reforms spanning labour markets, competitiveness, industrial recovery, and macroeconomic stability.
Additional immediate deliverables include operational improvements, reactivation of all TNF structures, digitalisation of TNF internal processes and regular production of policy briefs for Cabinet, Parliament, and social partners.
In interview, Mr Nyakadzumbu said their work will be fully aligned with the National Development Strategy 2, supporting the overarching objectives of Vision 2030.
“The establishment of a permanent TNF secretariat marks a critical turning point in strengthening Zimbabwe’s social dialogue architecture,” said Mr Nyakadvumbu.
For years the absence of a dedicated administrative and technical arm limited the forum’s ability to function consistently and effectively. Now, with a fully constituted secretariat, the TNF benefits from institutions continuity, professional coordination and enhanced technical capacity.”
The TNF is the country’s apex institution for structured social dialogue, established to bring together Government, Business, and Labour to collectively address social, economic, and labour market issues.
Established through the TNF Act of 2019, the forum is legally mandated to negotiate and forge consensus on matters such as wages, prices, labour reform, productivity, competitiveness, and social protection, among others.
While a new head was appointed in 2023, the secretariat faced capacity resource constraints.
