Online Reporter
Employee Relations
Dr Request Machimbira
In boardrooms and on factory floors across Zimbabwe, one institution is either quietly driving results, or it is being completely misunderstood and abused.
HERE we are talking about the works council.
For too long, the conversation around this institution has been reduced to grievance handling and confrontation.
That is a costly misreading.
When properly constituted and refocused, a works council is not a foe to management.
It is a structured platform for collaboration; the chief whip for sustainable industrial relations and a direct enabler of productivity.
Let us start with language, as it shapes practice.
It is prudent to note that it is the “works council”, not the “workers’ council”.
The central idea behind a works council is not workers as an interest group. It is works — the work itself, the enterprise, the productivity agenda and the shared future of the undertaking.
The systematic reference to “workers’ council” has had consequences.
It has turned the institution into a de facto workers’ grievance platform in many workplaces.
That situation is regrettable because it relegates work to the periphery.
A grievance forum is necessary, but it is not the mandate of a works council.
When the institution is mis-defined, it is mistreated.
And when it is mistreated, productivity suffers.
Zimbabwe’s law is clear on the purpose of a works council.
A works council exists to enable the advancement of social justice and the democratisation of the workplace, as contemplated by Section 2A of the Labour Act, Chapter 28:01.
Crucially, the Act, in Section 25A (5), is instructive on employee participation.
Management is required to consult the works council on decisions that affect employees’ interests.
The list is material, though not exhaustive: restructuring, job evaluation, retrenchment, the design of employment codes of conduct, productivity bonuses and so on.
The million-dollar question facing many enterprises today is simple: Is the works council being consulted?
Or is management conducting these processes arbitrarily? Where consultation is bypassed, you get resistance, suspicion and slow implementation.
Where it is done properly, you get buy-in, smoother change and faster execution.
The law anticipates the latter.
A mature works council does not block management.
It enables it. By institutionalising social dialogue, a works council cures arbitrariness.
It brings facts to the table before decisions are made. It tests assumptions with the people who do the work daily.
It identifies implementation risks early. This translates into fewer disruptions, better compliance and higher output per worker.
Think of it this way: Management sets direction.
The works council ensures the journey is co-owned. That is the difference between imposing change and delivering it.
In terms of operations, the Labour Act, Section 25A (3), is clear: Procedures are determined by the works council itself.
This is a critical provision that is underused.
It implies that every works council should develop and adopt a constitution to guide its operations.
That document must define purpose and scope; membership and tenure; meeting cycles; agenda-setting rules; consultation timelines; decision-recording; and escalation pathways.
A constitution gives form and structure to the institution. Without it, meetings drift into complaints. How you define the works council determines how you treat it.
A council can function as an innovation hub for process improvement, a productivity chief whip tracking targets and even an executive assistant to management on change projects.
It can also serve as an early warning system, flagging capacity, supply or morale issues before they become crises.
It can also function as a change partner, co-designing organisational interventions.
The works council, correctly understood, is that institution that solves problems.
It is a structured platform for collaboration between management and staff.
Its legislative intent is the enablement of the productivity agenda. It is not an adversary. It is an ally in building competitive, fair and resilient workplaces.
The challenge for human resource (HR) practitioners is to refocus works council functionality.
The result will be sustainable industrial relations and a workplace that delivers more, together.
Dr Request Machimbira is the executive director of Proficiency Consulting Group and the International Wellness Institute. For feedback, email request @proficiencyinternational.com or phone +263772693404.
