Speaking at the end of the traditional May Day march through the streets of Maputo, OTM General Secretary Alexandre Munguambe, added that the other key demands of the trade union movement were for fair wages and better working conditions, “safe and lasting jobs”, and “respect for labour legality and an end to dismissals without just cause”.
The labour movement, he stressed, “is in favour of decent work, and equality of opportunities and rights between men and women. We are in favour of technical and professional training of workers in general, and of young workers in particular, as a guarantee of the continued development of the country, and better competitiveness on the labour market”.
Munguambe also called for “continued simplification of procedures for investment in the country, since this contributes directly to a reduction in unemployment.
In a clear reference to the recent clashes between the police and armed members of the former rebel movement, Renamo, in the central province of Sofala, Munguambe stressed “we workers reject war, and we are in favour of peace, democracy and harmony between all Mozambicans”.
“We demand that violence must never again be used to achieve any political objective in Mozambican society”, he insisted.
For the first time, a representative of Mozambican migrants working on the mines in South Africa attended the Maputo May Day march. Speaking on behalf of the Mozambican miners, Victor Cossa said the parade, attended by tens of thousands of workers, showed that Mozambique is on the right track.
He declared that there are Mozambican specialists, experienced in various mining areas in South Africa, who could be persuaded to return to the country to work in Mozambique’s own booming mining sector.
Cossa thanked the government for facilitating the opening of Mozambican bank accounts for the miners where their deferred wages can be deposited, and urged the creation of further mechanisms to support the migrants on their return.
In a message sent from Nampula province, where he is on a working visit, President Armando Guebuza, claimed that increases in production and productivity are the essential condition for improving workers’ wages.
He said that the government recognizes that the new minimum wages, approved last month, “are not the desirable wages, but they are the ones that are possible in the current situation”.
Guebuza praised the Labour Consultative Commission (CCT), the tripartite negotiating forum between the government, the unions, and the employers’ associations, for the consensus achieved in this year’s discussions over raising the minimum wage.
“Tripartite social dialogue helps maintain and consolidate social harmony in the labour market, and to defend and promote fundamental rights at work”, Guebuza declared.
Post published in: Africa News