Protection against acts of interference 179. A trade union shall not represent employers and an employers’ organization shall not represent employees other that managerial employees (section 45(1)(b) of the Labour Act). The same applies to workers’ committees (section 23(1)). 180. Section 7(1) prohibits hindering, obstructing or preventing employees from “forming or conducting any workers’ committee for the purpose of airing any grievance, negotiating any matter or advancement or protecting the rights or interests of employees”, or threatening “any employee with any reprisal for any lawful action taken in advancing or protecting his/her rights”. Any person who contravenes this provision shall be guilty of an offence and liable to a fine not exceeding level seven and/or to imprisonment not exceeding two years (section 7(3)). Furthermore, preventing, hindering or obstructing employees in the exercise of trade union rights by any act or omission is an unfair labour practice under section 8. 181. Section 3 of the Labour Relations (Protection Against Any Acts of Interference Between Workers’ Organisation and Employers’ Organisation) Regulations essentially takes up the wording of Article 2 of Convention No. 98 and provides that any employer or a representative of an employers’ organization or workers’ organization who commits an act of interference shall be guilty of an offence and liable to a fine not exceeding level five and/or to imprisonment for a period not exceeding six months. 112 Collective bargaining 182. As discussed above, under the Labour Act, workers can be represented by a trade union, which may or may not be registered, and/or by a workers’ committee. However, an unregistered trade union acting as a collective bargaining agent commits an unfair labour practice (section 9(e) and (h)). Bargaining collectively with another union when a registered trade union exists is also an unfair labour practice by an employer (section 8(f)). However, while the first paragraph of section 74(1) states that Part X of the Act pertaining to collective bargaining agreements applies only to agreements negotiated by registered trade unions, the second paragraph of the same section indicates that an unregistered trade union shall not be prevented from negotiating a collective agreement. Furthermore, according to section 31, a registered trade union, upon the Minister’s authorization, may act as the agent union of employees in any undertaking or industry who are not otherwise represented by a registered trade union if not less than 50 per cent of the employees concerned are in favour of such a trade union representing them or if the Minister so requests. An unregistered or a registered trade union can also request another registered trade union to act as its agent union. 183. A workers’ committee may bargain collectively by virtue of section 24(1)(b). Where an appropriate trade union exists to represent employees, section 24(3) sets out the following rules. If the trade union has no collective agreement with the employer concerned, a workers’ committee can bargain collectively with the written authorization by the union concerned. Where there is a collective bargaining agreement, a workers’ committee can negotiate only to the extent permitted by such a collective bargaining agreement, or where the Minister certifies that the issue in question was omitted from or included in the principal collective bargaining agreement when it should not have been so omitted or included, or the parties to the principal collective bargaining agreement have failed or are not in a position to reach an agreement on such an issue. Every collective bargaining agreement negotiated by a workers’ committee shall be referred to the employees and the trade union concerned. It becomes binding if 112 It shall be an act of interference for an employer or employers’ organization to promote the establishment of workers’ organization under the domination of the employer or employers’ organization, or to support a workers’ organization by financial or other means, with the object of placing such organization under the control of the employer or employers’ organization. 56 Meetings-2009-Zimbabwe C of I-2009-12-0035-3-En.doc/v3