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unions. Workers’ Day is celebrated on May 1 the world over.
However, in Zimbabwe the West’s illegal economic sanctions regime imposed at the behest of the MDC — with tacit support from the ZCTU that has never raised a voice against them — have had a deleterious effect on worker livelihoods through capital flight, factory closures, job losses, loss of investments, pensions and savings.

Finance Minister Tendai Biti, who is also MDC-T secretary-general, is on record saying sanctions depressed the economy by a factor of over 40 percent.
A survey conducted by The Herald yesterday revealed that most of the workers feel Government and the private sector were taking advantage of their relations with union leaders to abuse workers.

They said major unions, the Zimbabwe Congress of Trade Unions and the Zimbabwe Federation of Trade Unions had aligned themselves to MDC-T and Zanu-PF respectively.
“To be honest, there is no longer labour movement in Zimbabwe because it’s either you are aligned to a certain political party or you do not exist,” said Mr Mashavira Mashavira, a human resources expert.

“Labour issues are now treated and respected in line with the union that one belongs to. The starting point for people to regularise workers’ representation is to start with the labour law itself. It should be specific on its leadership and political affiliation.

“The law should be very clear that if one is an active member of a political party they cannot be a secretariat member of a trade union because the means of production are with the politicians whose friends are union leaders. There is no way those union leaders will represent the workers.

“I am very certain that at the trade union addresses tomorrow you will not fail to get political statements that have nothing to do with the workers.”
Mr Mashavira said there was need for a paradigm shift in the labour movement for the workers to be represented.

Ms Tarisai Marodza, who is a legal clerk, said there was nothing to celebrate today as workers were not being represented.
“We feel unions are not representing workers anymore. They should stand for the workers and not politicians. It would also be ideal to have employee share ownership schemes at all companies so that workers can find an incentive for them to work hard,” she said.

Mrs Jessie Takawira who is a messenger at a local bank said it was important for the labour movement to be revamped to its old-self where it used to represent workers. “In the past unions used to represent workers and it was worth celebrating but of late these unions now stand for political parties than workers.

“We want unions that listen to the workers and not political parties. At the moment workers feel abused by these unions,” Ms Marodza said.
Labour lawyer and University of Zimbabwe law lecturer, Mr Munyaradzi Gwisai, said the labour movement in Zimbabwe had let workers down by aligning themselves to political parties.

“The truth of the matter is that it is the bosses and politicians who will be celebrating and eating across the political divide at the expense of workers themselves,” he said. “Union leaders who should have known better decided to go under the skirts of political parties and be fed with crumbs while their members starve hence workers cannot expect salvation from such people. As ISO (International Socialist Organisation) we are inspired by the emerging seed of resistance and struggle by the ZCTU Concerned Affiliates (breakaway formation of the Zimbabwe Congress of Trade Unions led by Lovemore Matombo) who have decided to stand for the workers. “Tomorrow should be a day when we have to strategise and mobilise to fight back against the politicians.”

ZFTU secretary general Mr Benard Dhanda defended his union’s affiliation to political parties saying they could not exist without each other. “In South Africa, Cosatu is aligned to the ANC, in Britain, the British Federation of Labour is affiliated to the Labour party, in Zimbabwe, the ZCTU is affiliated to the MDC-T while in Zambia, the ZCTU there is affiliated to the MMD.

“There is no political party in the world that can rule a country without an affiliation with a labour movement. If you want to be a viable union you can’t operate in a vacuum. There is no way you can operate independently of political parties,” said Mr Dhanda. He said his union was not going to have celebrations in Harare because it had been snubbed by workers in the last two years. He said they would have celebrations in Mutare, Masvingo, Bulawayo and Karoi. Mr Dhanda said the main celebrations would be held at Renco Mine in Masvingo where Labour and Welfare deputy minister Monica Mutsvangwa was expected to give a keynote address.

ZCTU secretary general, Mr Japhet Moyo also defended his union’s affiliation to MDC-T saying they had taken part in the formation of the party hence they could not dump it. “As an institution we were founded by Zanu-PF in 1981 and up until 1986 these May Day celebrations were organised by the Zanu-PF government until we split in 1986 when they proposed a one party state.

“The ZCTU then formed MDC in 1999. We are not in the MDC-T but we are aligned to it. However, we are independent,” Mr Moyo said.
He said if workers were not adequately represented the blame would have to be put on the union’s affiliates who negotiate directly with the employers. Mr Moyo said ZCTU was there to give policy guidance and training of affiliate unions on labour issues. He said their main celebrations would be held at Gwanzura stadium where Labour and Welfare Minister Paurina Mpariwa was expected to deliver a keynote address.

Mr Moyo said 18 more commemorations would be held across the country.