ZCTU says nationwide labour protests to begin September 13th

By Tererai Karimakwenda
04 September 2006

A meeting of the general council of The Zimbabwe Congress of Trade Unions (ZCTU) on Saturday resolved to organise peaceful protests beginning September 13th. The issue at the centre of the protests is the increasing inflation that has left the majority of employed Zimbabweans earning far less than they need to survive. According to official figures, the Poverty Datum Line (PDL) was at Z$75 000 (revalued) for a family of six in July. And it is estimated to have shot above Z$90 000 in August. The ZCTU said about 90% of workers in Zimbabwe earn salaries below the PDL.

ZCTU president Lovemore Matombo told us on Monday that poverty levels had gone beyond their expectations. He said the general council had decided to examine the negotiations with the Tripartite Negotiating Forum - a body composed of government, labour and employers’ representatives - which is supposed to ensure fairness to all stakeholders in the business process. Matombo said: “ We came to the conclusion that this Tripartite Negotiating Forum is merely a talk shop that is never going to yield any anything. So we had no option but to decide on an action to try and force the partners into a proper negotiating process.”

Matombo said the protests are for all working families and for civic organisations that are prepared to fight for the democratic process. He said: “This is not exclusively a ZCTU thing and we have given our thumbs up to the Christian Alliance initiative where democracy is the culture.” Asked about the government threats against any mass action by the ZCTU, Matombo said there is a stage in every process where there is fear and another stage where fear dissolves. He said: “We need to be honest with Zimbabwe’s working families in admitting that our government does not treat us with kid gloves.” But he added: “It is better to die from the bullet than to die slowly from hunger.”

Regarding the actual mass action Matombo said next Wednesday September 13th will mark the beginning of a process they are calling “Break The Chains of Oppression.” Beginning at 1:00 pm all participants will march to Compensation House in Harare to present their position demands to the Ministry of Labour. From there they will proceed to the Ministry of Finance to present another document on the economic meltdown. And finally they will march to the building housing the employers organisation EMCOZ .

A ZCTU statement said the demonstrations will be dubbed
“Operation Tatambura: Vashandi Musatyityidzirwe or Operation
Sesihluphekile-Zisebenzi lingethuselwa.”