Labour Union gets confidence boost

By Lance Guma
10 August 2005

A sustained government plot to destroy the Zimbabwe Congress of Trade Unions fell flat on its back when 30 out of 35 unions endorsed the current leadership. In a statement issued on Wednesday the ZCTU information department said the endorsement 'renders false and baseless, public statements made by certain individuals that 17 affiliate unions are not supporting the current leadership.' The executive, led by Lovemore Matombo, was elected in 2001 succeeding opposition leaders Morgan Tsvangira and Gibson Sibanda who left to form the MDC.

Soon after the labour union successfully lobbied the Congress of South African Trade Unions to picket the Zimbabwean border and embassy over human rights abuses, a vindictive government sought to break up the leadership. Several union members have been physical assaulted at a number of meetings while the state media went into overdrive, pushing through damaging propaganda about the ZCTU leadership. The latest affirmation of support by union members will certainly not go down well with authorities in Harare. It is alleged they have managed to bribe at least 5 union leaders who have been behind most of the clashes.

Interestingly the Zimbabwe Union of Journalists led by former Herald Reporter Matthew Takaona, is among the five unions listed as not having supported the current leadership. Takaona last month made headlines after suggesting a self regulating code of conduct for journalists. The scheme was then hijacked by government officials who paraded him at state functions leading to speculation they were conniving to take away focus from the country's harsh media laws. Mlamleli Sibanda, the spokesman for the ZCTU, described the participation of ZUJ in the labour body as low key and that the organization had a weak structure for its members.

He says the ZCTU is meeting on Saturday to get final resolutions on how to tackle the problems being heaped on them by government interference. The vote of confidence however has allowed them to plan ahead knowing full well the majority of members are behind them.