Government has gazetted the Public Service Amendment Bill, introducing a firm ban on strikes by workers in essential services while also unlocking fully paid maternity leave for female employees without limitations.
The Bill, already approved by Cabinet and set for tabling in Parliament, is part of broader efforts to align Zimbabwe’s public service framework with constitutional provisions particularly on labour rights, professional conduct, and uninterrupted public service delivery.
In a decisive clause likely to impact health professionals and other frontline workers, the Bill prohibits industrial action by those employed in essential services.
“Members of the Public Service have the right to participate in collective job action unless they are employed in any department, service or section… declared to be an essential service,” reads Clause 22.
Clause 3 goes on to define essential services as any segment of the public service whose disruption could “immediately endanger the life, personal safety, or health of any person.”
This provision is widely seen as a response to repeated industrial actions by health workers in public hospitals strikes that have in past years paralysed major referral centres and left patients stranded.
Government says the move is designed to protect the constitutional right to health by ensuring that critical services remain functional, even in the face of labour disputes.
In a landmark move for women in the public sector, Clause 23 of the Bill grants 98 days of maternity leave on full pay, removing previous restrictions on eligibility and frequency.
Under existing regulations, maternity leave was only accessible after one year of service, and women were limited in how many times they could access the benefit.
The new Bill scraps both conditions, allowing all female civil servants, regardless of how long they’ve served, to access their full maternity leave entitlement — a shift expected to boost gender equality in the workplace.
“A female employee shall be granted ninety-eight (98) days maternity leave on full pay,” the clause reads, signalling a progressive alignment with regional labour standards.
While the Bill strengthens protections for working mothers, it tightens control over job actions in life-and-death services.
Health sector unions have previously pushed back against limitations on strike action, arguing that poor working conditions often leave dialogue as an ineffective option. However, authorities maintain that essential services cannot be allowed to grind to a halt at the expense of public health.
The Public Service Amendment Bill will now be debated in Parliament
