ZIMBABWE Congress of Trade Unions (ZCTU) says rising poverty and oppression on the backdrop of opportunities presented by the impending 2023 polls will headline this year's Workers Day commemorations.
The event commemorated by the working class globally gives workers a chance to deliberate on different socio- economic issues.
In an interview with NewZimbabwe.com Thursday ahead of the commemorations, the country's leading workers federation, Zimbabwe Congress Trade Unions (ZCTU) secretary general, Japhet Moyo bemoaned the unending hardships' affecting the working class.
"Guided by such realities, the event will be held under the theme "Workers Demand an Inclusive Zimbabwe; Free of Poverty, Corruption and Oppression". We are resolutely informed by the fact that over the years, we have continuously witnessed deterioration in the workers standard of living.
"Salaries have remained low pushing workers into poverty. Our nation currently has a large number of working poor with over 70% of workers experiencing poverty," he said.
Moyo said corruption in the country has also escalated in the absence of a clear cut strategy to nip it in the bud as the trend of what he described as "catch and release" continues to persist.
He said the situation is so dire that even key service providers like the police officers and those at the Registrar General's office charged with responsibility to issue critical documents like Birth Certificates are now demanding bribes for the services.
"In terms of oppression, the impending Private Voluntary Organisations Amendment Bill coupled with other factors speaks volumes on the rate at which the space for Civil Liberties is shrinking," he said.
Quizzed on why labour is downplaying the significant steps taken by the government which have culminated in the creation of the first ever legislated social dialogue platform Tripartite Negotiation Forum (TNF), Moyo hinted the platform has failed the litmus test to turnaround the workers fortunes.
"Well that (TNF) is work in progress up to now. We have not managed to strike any meaningful agreement yet. Last year's minimum wage of US$150 agreement deliberated at the platform was a clear test.
"But as you see, the up to date government has continued to drag its feet in gazetting it as a minimum wage and as a result the platform has not left any footprint. Yes . We have attended quite a number of workshops , meetings , retreats ,team building gatherings but no box has been ticked on dealing with real issues," he said.
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Moyo said workers will use the day to set the tone straight when it comes to maintaining the demand for exclusively US$ denominated wages arguing that since 70% of transactions are being conducted in US$ there is need for earnings to reflect such a reality.
Asked to speak on the organ's position ahead of the 2023 polls, the labour leader said workers have a good opportunity to find a "once and for all" solution.
"The Workers Day comes just before elections and this is a big opportunity to speak through the ballot box. There is no other opportunity more than choosing who is going to decide the future on their behalf than selecting representatives from local to national levels.
Challenged to share details on the political party which the federation is urging workers to vote for , the union leader held back.
"We are not going that far. Workers are a part of society. They know who has stood with them or not. They are intelligent enough to know who has tormented them. So they will use their own discretion to judge who is suitable," Moyo added.
