ation – who are prepared to take new Zimbabwean clients.
A ZA representative attended a conference held recently in Manchester by trade unionists concerned with the issue of “Right to Work” for refugees and asylum seekers. The conference was well attended and we were pleased by the support shown by trade unionists. They want to campaign so that all asylum seekers are allowed to work.
It is well known that a lot of people are risking their lives working illegally in hazardous workplaces without proper protection. Trade unions want to protect vulnerable people such as asylum seekers from unscrupulous employers. It should not be the duty of the employer to enforce immigration laws but the home office. Employers should just look at the skills possessed by each worker and trade unions are going to be campaigning for that to happen. All asylum seekers need to know that this is an uphill struggle, which will take time to achieve any results. We urge all asylum seekers for the time being to comply with the conditions attached to their temporary admissions such as work prohibition.
We also attended the BZS AGM last weekend which was addressed by representatives of the Zimbabwe Womens Network-UK. Many interesting issues of concern to the community emerged such as the difficulties of isolation, domestic violence and ill health. Searching questions from the floor highlighted common problems for new groups such as the need to focus on specific areas rather than trying to tackle too wide a range of issues with limited resources. Ways of working together for the greater good were examined in a forthright and constructive manner.
On the detention front the good news is that two of the hunger strikers have been released on bail. Unfortunately two hunger strikers remain in detention although we understand that they were visited last week by a doctor who has recommended hospitalization. A number of other Zimbabweans (on Malawi documents) have been detained recently & one was picked up while driving.
PLEASE will people remember that travelling in a car which does not have correct documentation or which disobeys the traffic laws of the UK is likely to result in the car being stopped by police and the immigration status of the occupants being checked. This very often leads to the detention of anyone without satisfactory immigration status.
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