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Labour and the Tripartite Negotiating Forum (TNF)
Zimbabwe Congress of Trade Unions (ZCTU)
April 07, 2004

The Zimbabwe Congress of Trade Unions (ZCTU) would like to discount the misrepresentations by the Minister of Public Service, Labour and Social Welfare as per the Zimbabwe Broadcasting Corporation (ZBC) television clip on 5 April 2004, that out of the three labour bodies the ZCTU was the only labour body which pulled out of the Tripartite Negotiating Forum (TNF).

As far as ZCTU is concerned it was the only labour body in the TNF at that time and there are records and minutes to prove that. The assertion by the Minister that there were other labour bodies in the TNF is surprising and very inaccurate.

The reasons for the ZCTU’s withdrawal from the TNF were very clear and straightforward and it will be very wrong and unfair for the new Minister to suggest that ZCTU’s withdrawal was a matter of being uncooperative.

Tripartism needs commitment and negotiating in good faith and if government was really serious about courting the ZCTU back to the TNF it should not do this through misrepresenting facts in the Media. Government is starting the courtship on wrong footing.

As has been stated before, the ZCTU’s position on Tripartism is very clear.

The ZCTU withdrew from the TNF on 23 April 2003 after government had unilaterally decided to announce the increase of the price of fuel in the dead of the night on 16 April 2003 and then claimed that the increases were agreed to at the TNF, yet the matter was still under negotiation. It was at this time that the ZCTU realized that government wanted to manipulate other social partners and use them to assent to its imposed decisions.

The ZCTU has a social responsibility and mandate to represent workers and agreeing to anti – labour policies would have meant that the organisation was embracing some fallacious policies which were meant to rescue the situation for government only.

The ZCTU will only consider its position in the TNF after a National Symposium in July which is being organized by the ILO/SWISS project. The purpose of the symposium is to educate social partners particularly other government economic Ministries on the importance and rules of the game.

The ZCTU reiterates that it has been and will always be committed to genuine tripartite dialogue where at government accepts basic principles of tripartism and accommodate the rights of other social partners for the sake of progress.

Wellington Chibebe
Secretary General

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