Sergio Pantie, of the organizing commission, told reporters that three regional seminars will be organized, one in Nampula, for the northern region, another in Beira, the capital of the central province of Sofala, while for the southern region, the meeting will be held in Xai-Xai, the capital of Gaza province.
The regional meetings will be followed by a national seminar, due on 23 June in Maputo, to summarise the findings of the regional meetings.
To take part in these seminars, the organisers have invited the government, employers, the trade unions, magistrates, lecturers, lawyers, consultants and specialists in Labour Law.
Pantie explained that this exercise is in response to concerns raised by the various parties to the Labour Consultative Commission, which is the tripartite negotiating forum between the government, the unions and the employers, about two years ago.
Employers want a law that facilitates recruitment and dismissal of workers. In particular they want to make it easier to sack workers without paying large amounts of compensation.
They claim that the existing law affords too much protection to workers, and holds back investments.
For their part, the trade unions say that the debate is welcome, but whatever changes are introduced should make sure that workers' rights are guaranteed, not undermined.
Francisco Mazoio, of the largest Mozambican Trade Union Federation, the OTM, said that the workers welcome the dialogue, although it was not at their request.
"We welcome it, believing that it is to improve the law and enhance sound labour relations, but we will not forfeit workers' acquired rights. We will not allow all those aspects that protect the workers to be eliminated", he said.
Pantie said that the final version of the revised law is to be produced within approximately a year.
Fonte: AIM
