Opinion / Columnist
ZCTU playing double standards
12 Aug 2015 at 10:19hrs | Views
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It is noble to call a spade a spade as opposed to the labour union body, the Zimbabwe Congress of Trade Union (ZCTU), which is playing some double standards. One day it is supporting the workers and on the other day it is supporting the employers.
The ZCTU should be castigated for abandoning workers in their time of need as it snubbed a crisis meeting called to iron out outstanding issues on the amendment of the Labour Act. All long the ZCTU has been part of the Tripartite Negotiating Forum process. Following the Supreme Court ruling, several companies have laid off thousands of workers.
The labour union has failed to meet its mandate of representing the workers' interests and thousands of them have lost their jobs. Both those who lost their jobs and those spared are blaming the labour body for gross incompetence and neglecting them. It is a known fact that the ZCTU has been towing and spearheading the regime change agenda in solidarity with the MDC which has failed to achieve its objective. This has rendered the labour movement and its union with the MDC irrelevant.
The ZCTU should be exposed for having a high appetite for the workers' subscriptions and not concentrating on its mandate of representing them in times of need. They spend a lot of time on trivial issues like boardroom coups, financial embezzlement and involving themselves into politics. If people would like to engage into politics then leave the labour union body alone and join a political party of your choice.
At times if you mix things you lose focus and you will not meet the objectives intended to be met .The ZCTU has been engaging with politicians in the likes of MDC-T member , Nelson Chamisa, who caused the Supreme Court ruling which sacked thousands of workers. Chamisa openly praised the ruling referring to it as historic and watershed. If Chamisa was sincere he should have sympathized with the workers not to ululate and glorify the ruling when people are being reduced into paupers.
In fact the people who are planning street demonstrations should demonstrate against Chamisa and his MDC party for bringing poverty to the people through retrenchments and the Supreme Court ruling. Chamisa and his MDC-T supporters have immensely brought up untold suffering as they invited sanctions. Many people are now unemployed; a lot of educated people are flooding the streets without anything to do and more people are losing jobs with the ZCTU's hands at akimbo doing nothing.
Morgan Tsvangirai should also have come in as the patron of the labour body and listen to the people's pressing issues but the man chose to keep quite. This has shown and exposed the politicians for their hypocrisy and also the hypocrisy by the labour union members. We advise the labour union members ,especially the executive, to concentrate on labour issues and leave politics to the politicians. They should shape up or ship out.
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Stewart Murewa can be contacted at stewartmurewa@gmail.com
The ZCTU should be castigated for abandoning workers in their time of need as it snubbed a crisis meeting called to iron out outstanding issues on the amendment of the Labour Act. All long the ZCTU has been part of the Tripartite Negotiating Forum process. Following the Supreme Court ruling, several companies have laid off thousands of workers.
The labour union has failed to meet its mandate of representing the workers' interests and thousands of them have lost their jobs. Both those who lost their jobs and those spared are blaming the labour body for gross incompetence and neglecting them. It is a known fact that the ZCTU has been towing and spearheading the regime change agenda in solidarity with the MDC which has failed to achieve its objective. This has rendered the labour movement and its union with the MDC irrelevant.
The ZCTU should be exposed for having a high appetite for the workers' subscriptions and not concentrating on its mandate of representing them in times of need. They spend a lot of time on trivial issues like boardroom coups, financial embezzlement and involving themselves into politics. If people would like to engage into politics then leave the labour union body alone and join a political party of your choice.
At times if you mix things you lose focus and you will not meet the objectives intended to be met .The ZCTU has been engaging with politicians in the likes of MDC-T member , Nelson Chamisa, who caused the Supreme Court ruling which sacked thousands of workers. Chamisa openly praised the ruling referring to it as historic and watershed. If Chamisa was sincere he should have sympathized with the workers not to ululate and glorify the ruling when people are being reduced into paupers.
In fact the people who are planning street demonstrations should demonstrate against Chamisa and his MDC party for bringing poverty to the people through retrenchments and the Supreme Court ruling. Chamisa and his MDC-T supporters have immensely brought up untold suffering as they invited sanctions. Many people are now unemployed; a lot of educated people are flooding the streets without anything to do and more people are losing jobs with the ZCTU's hands at akimbo doing nothing.
Morgan Tsvangirai should also have come in as the patron of the labour body and listen to the people's pressing issues but the man chose to keep quite. This has shown and exposed the politicians for their hypocrisy and also the hypocrisy by the labour union members. We advise the labour union members ,especially the executive, to concentrate on labour issues and leave politics to the politicians. They should shape up or ship out.
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Stewart Murewa can be contacted at stewartmurewa@gmail.com
Source - Stewart Murewa
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