adminThis comes after the poorly attended May Day celebrations on Tuesday that were characterised by divisions within trade unions representing workers.
Divisions within the Zimbabwe Congress of Trade Unions (ZCTU) marred the May Day commemorations in Harare, Bulawayo, Masvingo, Victoria Falls and the Midlands.
In separate interviews after the Workers Day on Tuesday, workers said it was no longer important for them to attend the actual commemorations as nothing tangible came out of the ceremony.
“It is of no use to go and attend the celebrations when we don’t have food on the table, in any case there will be nothing to benefit except listening to empty promises,” said Mr Maxwell Ndlovu, a teacher.
He said long ago, the May Day holiday was a significant day for workers as major announcements concerning workers’ challenges were made.
“We used to look forward to May Day because that was the time when the Government would announce salary increases or new policies that were friendly to the workers.
“The times have changed, Workers Day is now empty, it is politically charged because politicians take advantage of the day to further their agendas,” said Mr Ndlovu.
He said the commemorations were meant to motivate workers, but of late “the day demoralises us because people will be feeding us politics that does not help at the end of the day”.
A nurse, Ms Andile Sibanda, described May Day as irrelevant.
“To me it is just a ceremonial holiday and nothing more. During such kinds of events it is usually speaker after speaker talking about things that are not relevant to us.
“We want to hear about salary increments, job creation and other related issues,” said Ms Sibanda.
She said May Day had lost its glamour due to the fact that many workers in the country were disgruntled.
“In fact going to the venues to attend these (May Day) functions is a cost that I will have to draw from the little monthly salary I earn, so one would opt to save that little money for something more important,” said Ms Sibanda.
Mr Odious Nkomo, a driver, said during May Day it was business as usual.
“I will rather keep on working to feed my family because that day is no longer special, most people have given up on collectively lobbying for their rights and better working conditions because nothing much has come out of that,” said Mr Nkomo.
He said there was a need for trade unions to instil a sense of hope and motivation on the disgruntled workers.
“Now people would rather work to put food on the table than to spend the whole day following May Day proceedings because it is them who suffer in the end,” said Mr Nkomo.
Commenting on the declining value of May Day, Zimbabwe Federation of Trade Unions (ZFTU) and Zimbabwe Congress of Trade Unions (ZCTU) said the development did not come as a surprise and the reason behind that was the fact that the workers were disgruntled.
“It is hard for workers to celebrate when they have no food, civil servants cannot be expected to attend because for a long time now they have been trying to negotiate for better salaries with the Government,” said ZFTU secretary-general Cde Bernard Danda.
He said the significance of the Workers’ Day was fading as most workers were unhappy in terms of their earnings.
“They have no money to attend these events, hey would rather use the little they have on important things such as food,” said Cde Danda.
ZCTU president Mr George Nkiwane said the workers no longer valued May Day as they had for long been given empty promises.
“Workers are not wrong to think that there is nothing for them on Workers Day because things have not been good in terms of the working conditions and salaries,” said Mr Nkiwane.
Online Reporter