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ZCTU leaders physically attacked at meeting
The Herald (Zimbabwe)
April 12, 2005

http://www.herald.co.zw/index.php?id=42448&pubdate=2005-04-12

Read the ZCTU response to this article

ZIMBABWE Congress of Trade Unions president Mr Lovemore Matombo and his deputy Ms Lucia Matibenga had to run for dear life recently when they were physically attacked by some officials over alleged corruption and mismanagement in the umbrella labour body.

Tempers flared at the meeting held in Harare and top ZCTU officials, including Mr Matombo and Ms Matibenga, had to flee as disgruntled members started throwing water glasses and other objects at them.

ZCTU secretary-general Mr Wellington Chibebe is said to have been poked several times with a newspaper by Mr Langton Mugeji, a member of the labour body’s general council.

This was after Mr Chibebe allegedly failed to give a satisfactory explanation as to who had sanctioned the salaries that Mr Matombo and Ms Matibenga are getting.

Efforts to get a comment from Mr Chibebe were fruitless as his mobile phone was either switched off or not being answered.

When contacted, Mr Matombo said owing to his status as an arbiter, it would be unprofessional for him to publicly state his position on a contentious internal matter which was still to be resolved.

"I am a professional and I cannot comment because I am also involved in the issues at stake. About my salary, talk to administration.

"In any case, it is not important for me to comment because you want to scandalise the ZCTU," he said before abruptly switching off his phone.

Ms Matibenga also refused to comment, saying she had important business to attend to.

"I cannot talk to you because I have to answer my other phone," she said before hanging up.

Mr Mugeji could also not be reached for comment.

A spokesperson for ZCTU affiliates which represent 19 unions, Mr Nicholas Mazarura, who is also the deputy secretary of the Zimbabwe Construction Industry Workers’ Union, accused Mr Chibebe of giving leeway to Mr Matombo and Ms Matibenga to misuse ZCTU funds.

"Matibenga has not been formally employed since 2000 yet she claims to be representing the workers, and Matombo is now more of a politician than a workers’ union leader.

"These people are now getting a salary every month yet our constitution stipulates that they should be given allowances only since they will be operating on a part-time basis," he said.

He further pointed out that the two’s contracts with the ZCTU were terminated over a year ago but Mr Chibebe had ensured they continued working for the union despite the fact that their changed status no longer met requirements of the labour body’s constitution.

Mr Mazarura further denounced the ZCTU for abandoning its core business of representing the workers.

"One of the core principles of the ZCTU when it was formed was to work towards the lowering of the number of workers living below the Poverty Datum Line, but ironically this trade union has never made any effort to address this crucial issue.

"Workers continue suffering. They are not accessing ARVs (anti-retrovirals) yet as a group they are making the immense contribution to the Aids levy. But senior officials at ZCTU are virtually doing nothing; they have become more of politicians than workers’ representatives," Mr Mazarura said.

The ZCTU top brass has been accused of hijacking platforms for addressing and discussing issues affecting workers to further their own interests and denounce the Government.

In a letter to Mr Chibebe dated April 8, Mr Mazarura attacked the ZCTU for hijacking workshops meant to educate workers on occupational health and safety to promote their personal interests and political agendas.

"We refer to the above, and write to advise you that we have been inundated with distress calls from our concerned members who attend these workshops. They are complaining that you are completely hijacking the agenda to further your own interests.

"Could you kindly ensure that this kind of practice is stopped forthwith? Mr Chibebe, please do not start off a fire you will not be able to control. You have stretched our patience to the (breaking) limit now," reads part of the letter.

The ZCTU leadership has also come under fire for opening an informal sector account without the knowledge of the other members.

The criteria used to select signatories was controversy-ridden as only the secretariat that comprises of the project co-ordinator, a Mr Mutemeri, and Mr Chibebe are the sole signatories.

Mr Mutemeri refused to comment, saying he had knocked off work and was relaxing at home.

Money in the account is believed to be from donors and no one audits the transactions.

"It’s a pity that the officials are now labelling us radicals and some are saying that we are being sent by external forces to cause havoc in ZCTU yet we are fighting for the workers. We are only saying ‘no’ to corruption. We are not going to break away from the ZCTU. We just want to put the house in order and we are encouraging unions to pay up their subscriptions," said Mr Mazarura.

The ZCTU has over the past years been concentrating on partisan opposition politics at the expense of its core business of championing and protecting workers’ interests. It has, in many cases, sided with employers who it should be negotiating and bargaining hard with from opposite sides of the table.

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