26 | Zimbabwe Rule of Law Journal This section is basically three in one. The section may be expanded as follows: a. right to fair labour practices and standards, b. right to safe practices and standards, c. right to be paid a fair and reasonable wage. This paper will focus on part (a): the right to fair labour practices and standards. What is clear and apparent is that the right does not define fair labour practices and standards. The right is pluralistic in nature; it appears one right yet is a convolution of rights. The concept of fair labour practice is alien to common law but is an invention of the International Labour Organization (ILO).3 There are a number of ILO Conventions that set out various labour standards and minimum practices that are acceptable under the ILO family.4 International labour standards are legal instruments drawn up by the ILO’s constituents, setting out basic principles and rights at work.5 The international labour standards are therefore either conventions, which are legally binding international treaties that may be ratified by member states, or recommendations that are non-binding agreements.6 What is apparent from this definition is that standards are a creation of ILO.7 Hence the referral to standards under municipal law should derive its definition from the ILO definitions. Zimbabwe employs the transformation doctrine as a way of domesticating international instruments. In section 327 (2) of the Constitution of Zimbabwe, an international instrument needs to be signed and ratified first for it to be binding. In addition, after the ratification, parliament should then by an Act of parliament incorporate the convention or treaty into municipal law. Hence, in this instance, the definition of what is a standard or practice can be 3 4 Xavier Beaudonnet (ed) International Labour Law and Domestic Law, ILO, Switzerland, 2010 ILO, Freedom of Association, Digest of decisions and principles of the Freedom of Association Committee of the Governing Body of the ILO, 2006. 5 ILO, Rules of the Game, A brief introduction to International Labour Standards, ILO, Revised Edition, Switzerland, 2009, p14. 6 Ibid 7 ILO, Constitution of the International Labour Organisation, ILO Switzerland, Geneva, 2009