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ZCTU's
response to the herald article entitled 'unions blast ZCTU'
Zimbabwe
Congress of Trade Unions (ZCTU)
March 05, 2005
The Zimbabwe
Congress of Trade Unions (ZCTU) is surprised by the statement attributed
to 17 of it's affiliate unions in the Herald
5 March 2005. The statement accuses the ZCTU secretariat of,
inter-alia, unilateral decision making, corruption and also engaging
in politics at the expense of workers’ welfare.
The ZCTU would
like to make it clear that all the decisions taken by the organization
are reached at General Council meetings and there has never been
a time when a General Council meeting has proceeded without a quorum
which means that there will be a consensus on the issues under discussion
every time.
The role of
the Secretariat of the ZCTU which is led by the Secretary General
is to implement and communicate decisions and policies made by the
General Council to membership and interested parties. The Secretariat
will never at any time implement its own decisions without consulting
the General Council which comprises of representatives of each and
every ZCTU affiliate.
There is no
way the ZCTU as a labour body can disassociate itself from politics.
A conducive political and economic environment is a catalyst for
the country’s development in general and a harmonious industrial
relations atmosphere in particular. As such the ZCTU will always
feel obliged to play its role as a representative of the workers
who are major players in the whole ball game.
On the issue
of the COSATU visit to Zimbabwe, this was a purely General Council
decision which was reached at a meeting on December 18 2004 which
resolved to invite back the COSATU delegation and every General
council member was well and clear on the mission of the delegation.
The ZCTU General
Council also resolved to accommodate President Lovemore Matombo
after he was dismissed from his job at ZIMPOST while on ZCTU business
and this decision was consensual as Mr Matombo remains the ZCTU
President.
The statement
also questions the status of Lucia Matibenga as the 1st
Vice President of the ZCTU while she is not employed. In fact, Matibenga
is also the President of the Commercial Workers Union of Zimbabwe
where during their congress, she garnered the most votes which mean
that she has the mandate of the membership to be their leader. She
is also the President of the Southern Africa Trade Union Coordinating
Council (SATUCC) which shows her commitment in leading the worker’s
struggle and the faith workers have on her leadership not only in
Zimbabwe but in the region as well.
It is unfortunate
that the allegations of corruption and dictatorship were raised
in the statement to the press while the instigators of these allegations
have not sought clarification from head office on their concerns.
The ZCTU is a public organization and anyone is free to scrutinize
its operations and come up with an informed assessment of its operations.
The ZCTU however
notes the concerns of the affiliates in the Herald article and would
like to inform its membership and the general public that such type
of engagement is best done at General Council level so that issues
are clarified before going to the press.
Actually there
are communication channels which are supposed to be followed if
ever there are concerns from membership and that is why the ZCTU
has always thrived to have occasional General Council meetings for
the decision making body to be always in touch with all the ZCTU
operations.
Mlamleli Sibanda
ZCTU Information
Department
Visit the ZCTU
fact
sheet
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