HARARE – The Zimbabwe Congress of Trade Unions (ZCTU) has issued a strong critique of the government, accusing it of favouring business interests over workers’ rights and well-being, despite rising poverty levels impacting workers’ mental health.
ZCTU President, Florence Taruvinga, spoke at the belated commemoration of the World Day for Decent Work (WDDW), decrying the government’s focus on attracting investors at the cost of fundamental labour rights and safety standards.
“Government is pushing for the ease of doing business, and in that process, it is compromising on the enforcement and application of decent work standards as means to attract investments,” Taruvinga said. She pointed to recent instances of safety violations and weakened social dialogue, particularly in Chinese-owned mining operations, where unions often face restricted access to workers. This, she said, has led to an increase in precarious employment conditions across Zimbabwe’s industrial sector.
According to the International Labour Organization (ILO), decent work is defined as employment that not only offers a fair wage but also provides job security, social protection, and safe working conditions. It also includes the freedom for workers to express their concerns, engage in collective bargaining, and influence decisions impacting their livelihoods. Taruvinga argued that Zimbabwe’s current policies and practices fall far short of these international standards.
Civil servants, she noted, have been hit especially hard due to a weakened collective bargaining framework, which has resulted in stagnant wages, inadequate resources, and deteriorating working conditions. Taruvinga attributed this to a dysfunctional social dialogue mechanism, which she says has stifled progress in achieving decent work standards for government employees and the workforce at large.
Taruvinga also expressed concern that legal rulings and national policies have steadily eroded gains previously made under Zimbabwe’s Decent Work Country Programme (DWCP). “We demand that the government tailor policies to the DWCP if we are to make any meaningful impact and transform the lives of workers through decent work,” she asserted.
The commemorations were held under the theme, Workers Deserve Peace and Democracy, echoing this year’s international message from the International Trade Union Confederation (ITUC). While Zimbabwe is not experiencing armed conflict, Taruvinga noted that the severe economic hardship facing Zimbabwean workers presents a different, yet no less damaging, threat to decent work and democracy in the country.
The ZCTU’s demands come at a critical time as Zimbabwe faces high inflation, currency instability, and a rising cost of living, all of which continue to erode real wages and push many workers further into poverty. The call for stronger protections and policies to ensure fair working conditions reflects the growing discontent among workers and unions, who say the government must do more to support decent work rather than merely prioritise business-friendly policies.
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