In Zimbabwe, however, it offers an opportunity to highlight an unemployment rate of 80 percent, divisions within the country’s labour movement, a deteriorating environment for journalists, and the inability of factionalised labour unions to improve working conditions.
Thokozani KhupeZimbabwe Federation of Trade Unions (ZFTU) secretary general, Bernard Danda says there is nothing to celebrate on May Day as most workers have lost their jobs. He says the few workers still with jobs are struggling to survive on poor salaries.
These views are shared by many workers who feel the coalition government has failed to improve the conditions of workers four years after its formation.
“Over the past four years, our conditions of service have deteriorated and many workers are going for months without getting paid,” says John Mari a Harare factory worker.
Labour consultant Newton Mpofu says industries have continued to close while thousands of workers have been retrenched, resulting in the current unemployment rate of at least 80 percent.
“Many of these former workers are now in the informal sector where they are struggling to make ends meet,” he says.
Deputy Prime Minister Thokozani Khupe acknowledges that many companies have either shut down or downsized, particularly in Bulawayo, the country’s second largest city which used to be the country’s industrial hub.
“We can still revive the industry if we change our mindset and copy how other countries like China and India have done it,” says Khupe.
In Bulawayo alone, it is estimated that more than 100 companies closed shop since the formation of the coalition government, leaving over 20,000 workers jobless.
Workers continue to bear the brunt of unemployment, poor working conditions and low salaries; in many instances of economic meltdown, people in rural regions often are the hardest hit. Most workers in Zimbabwe, including civil servants, earn below the poverty datum line currently pegged at US$506.
The Zimbabwe Lawyers for Human Rights (ZLHR) says workers continue to grapple with grinding poverty and “slave” wages in much of the public and private sector.
A spokesperson says despite endless promises by politicians to review and improve working conditions, workers still earn paltry wages ranging between US$150 and $300 per month.
“Workers are struggling to survive, yet some in government are enjoying lavish lifestyles because they are covered by the unfair salary structures and the allowances they amass from sometimes superfluous foreign excursions and other questionable activities including the opaque accounting for the country’s mineral wealth,” the ZLHR spokesperson says.
Zimbabwe Union of Journalists (ZUJ) secretary-general Foster Dongozi says the salary environment continues to be hostile to journalists as many are forced to accept unfair contracts without job security.
“Employers continue to resist the push for a National Employment Council, by refusing to form an umbrella body of employers to enable salary negotiations to take place,” he says.
The May Day celebrations come at a time when the labour movement is bitterly divided, with rival unions organising commemorations at different venues.
The main labour movement, the Zimbabwe Congress of Trade Unions (ZCTU) split into two groups following a bitter fight for the leadership two years ago. The main faction, led by George Nkiwane, held its main commemorations at Gwanzura stadium in Harare — attended by American civil rights activate the Reverend Jessie Jackson — and at 19 other centres around the country. The rival faction, using the same name and led by former president Lovemore Matombo, held marches to commemorate the day.
The Zimbabwe Federation of Trade Unions — which is also divided into two factions — is not celebrating Worker’s Day at all. – http://zimbabweelection.com/2013/05/01/zimbabwe-election-labour-day-highlights-divisions-in-zimbabwes-labour-movement/
Post published in: News