Government urged to improve working and living conditions of all workers

The Zimbabwe Human Rights NGO Forum (The Forum) joins Zimbabwe and the rest of the world in commemorating Workers’ Day. The day has come to represent more than just a day of workers’ solidarity. It is also a day of protest against economic and social injustices that continue to plague many parts of the world. Workers and activists use the day to raise awareness about issues such as exploitation, low wages, poor working conditions, and discrimination.  The Forum notes this year’s global theme is “Respecting diversity through joint social action” and adds its voice to the call for the protection of workers’ rights and the promotion of social justice.

There is no better theme to celebrate the contributions of the workers and the Forum reminds the Government of Zimbabwe of Article 23 (4) of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights and Article 8 of the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights which promote workers to form or join trade unions of their choice. The Constitution of Zimbabwe Amendment (No. 20) under sections 65 (2) and (3) guarantees the right of workers to form and join trade unions and take part in collective job action. However, this has not been the case in Zimbabwe. We note that workers who stand to speak out continue to be victimised. The Forum has in the past assisted members of the Amalgamated Rural Teachers Union of Zimbabwe (ARTUZ) and the Zimbabwe Professional Nurses Union and individual doctors who would have been arrested in pursuit of their Constitutionally guaranteed rights to protest.

The Forum also notes with concern that civil servants, especially teachers, continue to suffer from poor remuneration and severely depleted working conditions and any form of resistance is met with threats of dismissal. This is contrary to Article 6 of the International Covenant on Economic, Social, and Cultural Rights which guarantees the rights of everyone to the opportunity to gain a living by work.   Furthermore, we note the infiltration of political influence in most professions where in some cases this is made compulsory at institutional and sectoral levels, examples being politically linked groups like Teachers’ for ED, Doctors for ED, and Civil Servants Trust ED. This is quite disturbing considering that all citizens have a right to make their political choices freely in terms of section 67 of the Constitution of Zimbabwe.

As the Forum commemorates Workers’ Day, it urges the Government of Zimbabwe to take measures in empowering the rest of the population by providing decent workspaces for both the formal and informal sectors. This is key to the attainment of the commitments made to Agenda 2030 of Sustainable Development Goals. Furthermore, the Government of Zimbabwe must address the extremely high unemployment rate in the country which has led to an increase in excessive drug abuse amongst the youth.

The Forum, therefore, calls on the government to:

• Respect the international instruments which provide for adequate remuneration and the right to participate in collective job action;
• Respect the constitutional provisions on labour and political rights;
• Improve the economy and come up with several projects that will increase employment, especially among the youth of Zimbabwe; and
• Take measures to improve the working and living conditions of all workers in Zimbabwe as provided in the Sustainable Development Goals.