Protection Of The Rights Of Employees In Insolvency Law: A Zimbabwean Perspective

Abstract

Insolvency law in Zimbabwe has undergone a legal metamorphosis from the colonial period to post independence. The evolution of insolvency law in Zimbabwe has been largely driven by socio-economic and political forces. Suffice to underscore that before the enactment of the comprehensive Insolvency Act by the Parliament of Zimbabwe in 2018, legislation dealing with insolvency was scanty if not piecemeal. One ubiquitous gap that was characteristic of the old insolvency law was the absence of clear-cut legal provisions for the protection of employees as there was a deafening silence in the law. The lacuna that existed in the law is what prompted the legislature to come with a comprehensive Insolvency Act which plugs yawning gaps that were axiomatically evident in the old law. The cardinal importance of the legal protection of employees during crisis times like insolvency cannot be overemphasised because any raw deal for employees militates against the dictates of labour rights deeply rooted in social justice and equity in society. Thus the new insolvency legislation ring-fences employees by giving them some special priority consideration during times of insolvency, making this legislative intervention highly commendable.