HARARE The International Labour Organisation (ILO) has released the final report by a commission of inquiry into alleged worker rights abuses in Zimbabwe, the countrys largest labour federation announced last week. The Zimbabwe Congress of Trade Unions (ZCTU) said it had received the report from a team of labour experts appointed by the ILO last August to investigate allegations that the government had constantly violated several labour conventions regarding the freedom of association and protection of rights to organise meetings as well as the right to negotiate wages.
We have received the report of the commission of inquiry which confirms most of the human rights abuses we have alleged, ZCTU president Lovemore Matombo said last week. In the report, the international labour body condemns what it says is the lack of democratic space in Zimbabwe, accusing the security forces of employing strong arm tactics to trample on workers rights.
The ILO commission of inquiry was prompted by the alleged assault and torture of the top leadership of the union in September 2006 after State security agents foiled a workers’ protest. Matombo and ZCTU secretary general Wellington Chibebe were among some of the executives from the labour body who were allegedly brutalised by the State security agents.
Matombo, Chibebe and 14 others later sued Home Affairs Minister Kembo Mohadi, Police Commissioner General, Augustine Chihuri and several other police officers implicated in their alleged torture after independent medical doctors produced reports indicating that their injuries were consistent with torture. In a three-page response to the ILO, after the international labour body made formal inquiries on the circumstances regarding their alleged torture, the government justified its suppression of the September 13, 2006 protest march by the ZCTU.
It said the ZCTU had no right to engage in an illegal demonstration, accusing the labour body of having links with the then opposition MDC-T party led by Prime Minister Morgan Tsvangirai.
The commission of inquiry was chaired by Raymond Ranjeva, a senior judge at the International Court of Justice who is also a conciliator at the World Bank International Centre for Settlement of Disputes. The contents of the reports would be made public on March 22 at the annual meeting of the ILO governing council.
Those privy to the workings of the ILO, said if Zimbabwe is found to have violated international labour laws it would be lumped in the same league with countries such as Myanmar and Colombia that were blacklisted for abusing workers.
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