Workers Day marks ‘move to democracy’

The Herald, May 1, 1981

THE significance of Workers’ Day is to celebrate the achievements of workers in Zimbabwean industries, executive secretary of the Mass Media Trust, Mr Robert Mandebvu, said yesterday.

Addressing student journalists at the Zimbabwe Institute of Mass Communication in Salisbury, he said the importance of the day this year was to mark the move towards industrial democracy in Zimbabwe.

He said the establishment of workers’ committees in industries was an important victory for the workers and ushered in an era in which the workers could make suggestions, not only for their pay and improved working conditions, but also for the benefit of management.

Mr Mandebvu said workers were the moving force of production in every society as well as the spearhead of social revolution and he hoped industrial owners would hold consultations with workers to inform them of their full intentions before introducing changes.

The reason why there were fewer industrial disputes in socialist countries, Mr Mandebvu explained, was because the workers were briefed on the objectives of management. Socialism meant the involvement of all the workers “which is the basis of all progress in society”.

He urged all workers to improve their own means of communication with management in order to better production, relations and safety in their working environment.

LESSONS FOR TODAY

• Today is International Workers’ Day, which is also known as May Day. It is a day on which people all over the world celebrate as a way of respecting and highlighting the contribution of workers to society.
• The day arises from activists in the late 19th century pushing for better conditions for workers, such as an eight-hour work-day.
• The day also shines the spotlight on the need for cordial relations between management and employees and the need for wages that are in line with adjustments in the cost of living.
• For employees to be happy, there is need for good communication between them and management and a clear understanding of each party’s expectations in terms of work input, output and remuneration and other benefits that may accrue to the employees.