Luanda — Lawmakers approved Thursday, in general terms, the Draft General Labour Law which reinforces the harmony between workers and employers.
The legal tool, which is a legislative initiative of the President of the Republic in his capacity as Holder of the Executive Power, was approved with 189 votes in favour, none against and no abstention, during the 4th Ordinary Plenary Meeting of the National Assembly.
The draft law aims, essentially, to reinstate a set of norms that were revoked in the previous General Labour Law to create greater balance in the defence of the interests of workers and employers and to reinforce harmony in labour relations.
The secretary of State for Labour and Social Security, Pedro José Filipe, summarized the draft law in eight fundamental pillars, namely inclusion, stability, dignity, innovation, flexibility, justice, practicality and balance.
The draft law reintroduces the labour contract for an undetermined period of time as a rule, and assumes, in an unequivocal way, the labour contract as the only form of legal labour relations.
The bill redefines the special labour contracts, focusing on telework and sports contracts, and introduces more flexibility in the organisation and duration of work, with emphasis on the working time regime of student workers and with family responsibilities (paternity leave).
The draft Law also makes it incumbent for the National Social Security Institute (INSS) to guarantee the payment of sickness or accident benefits to workers in disability regime.
It also clarifies the causes of unlawful dismissal and the respective consequences, as well as the reconfiguration of the criteria for determining compensation.
With the amendment in the section especially dedicated to women workers, gender equality and non-discrimination are enshrined through the introduction of complementary maternity leave and social protection in terms of dismissal for objective reasons.
It introduces personality rights, especially freedom of expression and opinion, physical and moral integrity, privacy and personal data protection.
The Proposal of the General Labour Law, which will be the object of discussion by the specialised committees of the National Assembly, is systemised in 326 articles, 11 chapters, 46 sections, 25 sub-sections, 2 divisions and 5 subdivisions.
The MP of the opposition UNITA, Peregrino Chindondo, justified that his party voted in favour of the amendments to the Labour Law due to the fact that the matter under discussion "is of great importance for workers and for companies".
The MP spoke of the need to create new job opportunities for young people and for the majority of the Angolan population.
"We understand that, despite the timid advances in the draft law, we hope that in the specialised discussion our structuring proposals are taken into consideration, so that the law can benefit Angola and Angolans," Chindondo said.
The MP of the ruling MPLA, Esteves Hilário, on his turn, said he was convinced that after the draft law is discussed a very important legal tool will be approved for the sake of the lives of workers and companies.
In the meantime, the MP explained that the General Labour Law does not generate jobs, "it regulates labour relations, what generates jobs is economic development".
Tripartite Free Trade Zone
The National Assembly approved Thursday the Draft Resolution for the Ratification of the Agreement that Creates the Tripartite Free Trade Zone between the Common Market of Eastern and Southern Africa, the East African Community and the Southern African Development Community.
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The draft resolution was approved with 164 votes in favour, no votes against and no abstentions.
The Trade and Industry minister, Victor Fernandes, said the Angolan operators and businesspeople could be facing the reality of an area of 527 million people (consumers) and that, at the moment, it represents 624 billion US dollars.
To the minister, if on one hand there is the fear that eventually we may not yet be at an economic level of competition, which would allow us to reach other economies that may be more developed, on the other hand, the zone also has the objective of exchanging knowledge services.
The Agreement Establishing the Tripartite Free Trade Area between the Common Market for Eastern and Southern Africa, the East African Community and the Southern African Development Community was signed by Member States in June 2015 in Egypt.
