Protest alliance builds as civic groups pledge to join ZCTU action

By Lance Guma
07 September 2006

Various civic groups in Zimbabwe have pledged to take part in planned protests by the Zimbabwe Congress of Trade Unions (ZCTU) next week. The national students body (ZINASU), National Constitutional Assembly (NCA) and the Crisis in Zimbabwe Coalition are all reported to have weighed in with their support. The ZCTU have been holding closed-door meetings all week with some of these groups with a view to mapping out the logistics for the protest. ZINASU leader Promise Mkwananzi told the weekly Financial Gazette ‘We met today and as students support them wholeheartedly and will be out in full force as the crisis we are facing is broader and requires that we must walk together with the suffering workers of Zimbabwe.’

ZCTU spokesman Mlamleli Sibanda told Newsreel it was not the first time they have had to co-ordinate similar demonstrations with some of these groups and they clearly knew what had to be done. Sibanda says that last years protest by the ZCTU resulted in several arrests with detainees spending over 4 days in police custody. He argues that the spirit behind that particular action was one of defiance and all those arrested had told the police they would be back on the streets again. Sibanda says numbers are not important but that an effective expression of disapproval with the running of the country would be sufficient.

The main opposition MDC has also expressed support for the protest but refused to be drawn into disclosing their level of involvement. The march being organised by the ZCTU has been structured to allow workers to use their lunch breaks to protest before going back to work. Those marching in Harare for example will gather at Construction House at 12:30pm before the procession moves around handing petitions to offices of the Ministries of Labour, Health and Finance. The workers will also hand a petition in at the offices of the Employers Confederation of Zimbabwe. The march is expected to end around 2 pm with the format likely to be adopted countrywide.