Vusumuzi Dube
Robin Muchetu, Senior Reporter
WORKERS have called on the Government to regularise the migration of workers to other countries in order to have organised movement of Zimbabweans to curb exploitation and human trafficking which have become rampant.
The call was made by the Secretary-General of the Zimbabwe Congress of Trade Unions (ZCTU) Mr Japhet Moyo who was speaking ahead of Workers Day tomorrow which is commemorated internationally on 1 May.
He said the massive migration of Zimbabwean healthcare workers particularly to the United Kingdom in the past few years was a cause for concern as there were no government-to-government agreements that guarantee the safety and non-exploitation of workers.
“Unfortunately, people are going out at the moment and others are happy that we are receiving foreign currency because there are other countries that export labour and they get money out of it. Take for example Cuba, they export doctors, engineers and so on and they get money out of it. With ours, we need to ask ourselves if we are winning or we are losing out.
They are leaving in numbers but is it a properly organised migration? Is ours a properly managed migration of labour? Do we have any agreement between Zimbabwe and those receiving countries?” he questioned.
Mr Moyo said the teachers’ agreement with Rwanda was the only binding and known agreement for the exchange of workers.
“My understanding is that we only have an agreement between Zimbabwe and Kigali in Rwanda where we are sending teachers. When there is no country-to-country agreement, those comrades that find themselves in various countries are exploited.
So, it is not all rosy, we have learnt of doctors being sweepers in other countries, engineers end up being groundsmen, these are not things we should be rejoicing at even if the family is receiving foreign currency.
When we train engineers in Zimbabwe and they want them abroad, we expect to have a written agreement with the receiving country so that they receive humane treatment,” he stressed.
Turning to wages, the ZCTU said the workers were in a dire situation as wages have lost value.
“Things are not okay at the moment, wages have lagged behind prices of goods, the exchange rate is not stable and this has affected the workers’ earnings.
That is the biggest problem we are facing so we are looking forward to a stable income and currency is stability. It also means that prices in the shops will not be shooting up every day, at the moment we have lost a lot as a result of the currency movement in the past two weeks,” said Mr Moyo.
He highlighted the need for workers to earn their wages in a stable currency.
“Our May Day message is that the economy has dollarised and authorities have agreed that a certain percentage of transactions be in US dollars, much of these transactions are in that currency but salaries are still in local currency and it makes life difficult for the ordinary worker. That is why the Government is giving part salaries in United States dollar.
The best way is to make sure everyone earns salaries in a stable currency,” said Mr Moyo.
ZCTU said May Day was a very important day where workers take stock of their trials, tribulations, programmes done for workers throughout the years, also where they have failed and where they performed well.
He also said it was a day to remember those workers who have lost their lives in the line of duty.
“We have lost people in the line of duty through accidents or death, those are some of the people we celebrate on this day. We look forward to this day always as we look at those who were also injured in the line of duty and also identify what more we should do with the current environment we are in,” he added.
This year’s theme — Workers demand an inclusive Zimbabwe free from poverty, corruption and oppression.
Non-affiliated trade unions have also come together to celebrate Workers Day on the basis of the foundational principles that govern the labour movement with spokesman Mr Peter Mpofu saying they were engaging the employers and Government to improve the workers’ standard of living, issues to do with taxation and ensuring that employers benefit from effective worker input.
“The celebrations are a solidarity initiative to help improve the conditions of employment in view of the current challenges faced by workers namely multi-currency salaries and the distortion it has to employee earnings,” he said.
Mr Mpofu said the need to restore the legacy of the labour movement in national development has brought the non-affiliated unions together for Workers Day celebrations.
-@NyembeziMu
Online Reporter