Call for strike in Zimbabwe gets muted response

A GENERAL strike called by union leaders over Zimbabwe’s economic crisis received a cool response yesterday, a day after the opposition ended its showdown with government over next year’s elections.

The two-day work strike organised by the Zimbabwe Congress of Trade Unions (ZCTU) was aimed at putting pressure on President Robert Mugabe as his government grapples with the world’s highest rate of inflation, officially put at 6,592.8%.

But the protest turned into a damp squib with little sign of workers heeding calls to stay away, at a time unemployment stands at some 80%.

ZCTU secretary general Wellington Chibebe putting on a brave face said: “We are touring the industrial areas right now and we have noticed that some factories are opened but what we have also noticed is that some workers did not turn up for work.”

Agnes Chatora, a secretary with a Harare-based consultancy firm, reflected a wide- spread view: “All we want is to make a bit of money to survive. I would rather come to work than stay at home and end up with nothing for my family.”

Tawanda Mhlanga, an insurance broker, said he came to work as previous protests had made no impact.

Security forces have crushed previous union protests with an iron fist and there are signs of divisions within the ZCTU.

A statement published in the state-run Herald newspaper, claiming to be from ZCTU affiliates, called on workers to ignore the strike call, saying it was an abuse of workers by unionists with ulterior motives.

Meanwhile, two rival factions of the opposition Movement for Democratic Change announced they would not challenge constitutional amendments they previously argued would help rig the vote in Mugabe’s favour.

Nelson Chamisa, spokes- man for Morgan Tsvangirai’s faction, denied the opposition had caved in and said the agreement not to contest the amendments was a result of negotiations with Mugabe’s ZANU-PF party.

“We have managed to put pressure on them and bring them to the negotiation table,” he told AFP.

“We want jobs and food on the table for the people of this country and we hope this is the key to resolving the national crisis.”