The significance of Workers Day is to celebrate their achievements in Zimbabwean industries, the 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 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 means of communication with management in order to better production, relations and safety in their working environment.
Lessons For Today
- Workers Day celebrations in Zimbabwe are a significant milestone because they celebrate the role of the worker who drives industry and in turn the economy.
- Since 1980 when the country gained independence, the Government has done a lot to improve the welfare of workers both in the private and public sectors through the enactment and amendment of a raft of laws.
- One of the critical aspects that the Government achieved at independence was ensuring industrial democracy, which encompasses the participation rights of employers and employees in the governance of employment relationships, either directly or indirectly, via trade unions, works councils.
