Africa-Press – Angola. The preliminary draft of the proposed law that approves the Labor Procedure Code provides for the possibility for unions to intervene in court on behalf of workers.
The instrument examined last Friday by the National Council for Social Dialogue aims to adapt the procedural rules on labor litigation to the legal and constitutional reality and to the realization of the fundamental freedoms of citizens enshrined in the Constitution of the Republic.
During the meeting, which brought together union leaders and members of the Government, the Secretary of State for Human Rights, Ana Celeste Januário, pointed to the measure as one of the main strengths of the proposed Code already approved in general by the National Assembly, awaiting the special discussions by the deputies.
The document also foresees the incorporation of arbitration as an alternative method for the resolution of labor disputes and a series of rules that will guarantee greater speed and effectiveness of labor justice. This preliminary draft also proceeds to unify and systematize the separate diplomas that contain the regulation of matters related to Procedural Labor Law, allowing for a better practical application of the law, ease of handling, fairness of decisions and guarantee of certainty and legal certainty for procedural subjects.
To the press, after considering the two instruments, the Secretary of State reinforced that the document foresees legislative changes regarding the deadlines and forms of the process.
“Angola did not have a Code. It is the first time that the country will have an instrument of this kind. We had separate legislation”, he said.
Within the scope of the work of the Commission for the Reform of Justice and Law, he added, it was understood that it was very important to bring these different laws together and put them all in the Code, complying with the principle of State Reform to simplify the mechanisms and the how labor justice is applied.
As for the norms of the Labor Procedure Code, he clarified that the proposal brings different rules to make the labor aspect more perceptible, justifying that “the idea of the reform is to simplify and make justice more effective”
For the secretary general of the Union of Angolan Journalists, the preliminary draft of the proposed law to revise the General Labor Law offers more resources and guarantees to workers to defend themselves.
Speaking yesterday to Jornal de Angola after the first ordinary meeting of the National Council for Social Dialogue, which served to listen to the contributions of trade union centrals and other civil society bodies, Teixeira Cândido underlined that the measure provides a guarantee and greater defense for workers.
According to the unionist, the Code currently has several resources and elements that facilitate the defense of workers: “It is an instrument that we needed and it will help a lot”.
The draft bill, which has already been generally approved by the National Assembly, he said, also enshrines the right of unions to defend their affiliates with lawsuits in court.
“If there is a dismissal measure against the worker, he can challenge that measure, bringing an injunction”, he clarified, and then the union leader mentions that it is one of the fundamental guarantees, because before it was not provided for in the legal system, but now the Code under discussion offers to the employer.
“We are fully in agreement with the Labor Procedure Code, for offering many tools and facilities for conflict resolution, because we are going to face several problems”, he reinforced.
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