Chronicle Editor
Leonard Ncube, Victoria Falls Reporter
MAY 1 every year is Workers’ Day, sometimes referred to as May Day or Labour Day in some countries and has been observed since the end of the 19th century to celebrate the working class.
Zimbabwe joined the rest of the world in observing the day on Saturday when President Mnangagwa, in a virtual speech, commended the country’s workforce for its dedication and hard work which has seen the country increasing its industrial capacity utilisation resulting in a stable macro-economic environment.
The Zimbabwe Federation of Trade Unions (ZFTU) and its affiliates, in partnership with the National Aids Council (Nac), held countrywide celebrations. The national event was held at Lwendulu Hall in Hwange where the trade union leadership addressed scorers of workers and pensioners.
On its part, Nac pledged its commitment to continue working with trade unions for protection of workers’ health as it is the workers that contribute to the Aids Levy.
“The National Aids Council has been supporting Workers’ Day commemorations for some years now. The worker is an important partner in the response to HIV because it is the worker that contributes money to the Aids Levy. We will continue to work with all workers’ unions and also the informal sector to ensure that there are no new infections among workers and their families as the nation works towards the global objective of ending Aids by 2030,” said Nac communications officer Mrs Tadiwa Nyatanga-Pfupa.
Workers have implored Government to deal with neo-liberal austerity and cartels whose existence is a threat to workers’ rights and the economy at large.
Addressing workers in Hwange, ZFTU president Cde Alfred Mkwarimba said the end of the Transitional Stabilisation Programme (2018-2020) and the coming into effect of National Development Strategy (NDS1) heralded a new era, a post-neo-liberal austerity period.
He said policies resulting in wage erosion, inequality, depressed aggregate demand and low personal disposable income should end while the persistent industrial action, strikes and sit-ins by public sector workers, teachers and nurses should be addressed.
Cde Makwarimba said Zimbabwe’s major challenge is that workers earn local currency yet basic commodities and services are priced or indexed in United States dollars thereby affecting wages.
In an interview, the trade union’s secretary-general Cde Kennias Shamuyarira called upon Government to legislate a minimum national wage to prevent exploitation of workers.
“There is a huge section of white monopoly capital that is after increasing profits at the expense of the workers’ welfare. Religious adherence to neo-liberal austerity has plunged social sectors into perennial crises and cartels are monopolising production and distribution in all major sectors of the economy yet getting lucrative Government contracts,” said Cde Shamuyarira.
He said Zimbabwe’s economy has potential for growth as shown by the 10,7 percent increase in industrial capacity utilisation in 2020 and a leap in GDP.
Cde Shamuyarira bemoaned closure of companies leading to casualisation of labour, use of child labour and retrenchments, which together with Covid-19, further exposed workers to exploitation and working without personal protective equipment.
The theme for this year’s commemorations was: Confronting excessive exploitation of the working class by the elite black and white monopoly cartels.”
Cde Makwarimba said corruption and exploitation by cartels is a cancer which needs to be confronted by the workers who are the vanguard of the economy.
“The cartels have monopolised the economy and even currency by fleecing workers. They ask for retention funds from the Reserve Bank of Zimbabwe to go and order goods and they get that at bank rate, but when they resell to workers they use a higher rate. These are people who are not honest and as long as we continue to have these people, the vision enunciated by President Mnangagwa of achieving an upper middle-income by 2030 will not be realised,” he said.
Cde Shamuyarira said achieving a middle income-economy will not be easy when a majority of workers are in poverty as they are earning below the Poverty Datum Line.
“It is high time we confront cartels as some are not even paying taxes to Government. It is time we have one farmer one farm, one miner one mine because we can’t have individuals owning multiple farms when many citizens have no land. Cartels are worse than Covid-19 hence this corruption must be stopped,” he said.
Cde Shamuyarira said demands being made by some sections of workers for USD salaries are not sustainable and what is needed is a living wage in local currency.
He said it was encouraging that ZFTU and Zimbabwe Congress of Trade Unions (ZCTU) which both sit in the Tripartite Negotiating Forum are now talking the same language informed by the need to address workers’ grievances.
Workers said what they had lacked over the years was understanding of their rights.
Mrs Bertha Dube, a former nurse at Hwange Colliery Company said: “This was a great Workers’ Day and we learnt a lot of things. We have been bitter because we lost our money to the employer and now we know that we are protected as pensioners.”
Mr Gift Banda who works for a local company bemoaned exploitation by some companies which he said negates the goals of the liberation struggle.
“We were liberated from colonial bondage so that we enjoy better salaries but companies exploit us. We have been enlightened and told about our rights as workers. We are now capacitated to expose the rot at our companies,” he said. — @ncubeleon
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