SECURITY FORCES ON HIGH ALERT OVER THE IMPENDING PROTESTS (13-08-07)

TU’s secretary general Wellington Chibhebhe announced that the labour would go in the streets as a way of pushing the Robert Mugabe regime to deal with appalling economic standards the country is facing.

The country’s police commissioner Augustine Chihuri when reached for comment by The Zimbabwean said the police has the duty to protect all citizens and make sure that all who embark on moves to destabilise the country will be dealt with accordingly.

In the past Zimbabwe security forces have descended heavily on this labour body when making demonstration to have their request made known to the government.

Zimbabwe is in its ninth year of economic recession with independent economists placing figures close to 10 000 percent whilst unemployment rate figures placed at just above 80 percent.

In the past few months Wellington Chibhebhe called on the government to review salaries of civil servants alleging that they were being paid about one sixth of the poverty datum line standards.

Thousands of Zimbabweans are expected to throng major cities such as capital Harare , Bulawayo , Mutare and Gweru to have their demands met. If these planned demonstrations succeed rolling demonstrations will be expected through the country.

Zimbabwean workers are among the poorly paid civil servants in the global economy were they can not even afford to pay school fees for their children even if their salaries are doubled according to present rates.

Zimbabwe ’s civil servants used to fall in the country’s middle class but due to the decline in the economic performance of the country, the middle class has been totally erased from the economic structure.

In Zimbabwe it is illegal for citizens to gather and make demonstrations without clearance of the police as such gatherings will be termed illegal and deserving the full wrath of the law.