WORKERS’ representative body, the Zimbabwe Congress of Trade Unions (ZCTU) says it plans to hold its political policy conference next month to craft a position paper on their expectations from the various political parties contesting this year’s general elections.
BY VENERANDA LANGA
ZCTU president Peter Mutasa told NewsDay yesterday that in the past, workers’ issues had been used for political expediency and this time around they do not want to be victims of false political promises.
“Our organisation works in terms of mandates from the workers and we have been consulting our structures on the matter of 2018 elections,” Mutasa said. “In three weeks’ time, we will be holding a political policy conference, and in this conference we will come up with the position of the policies which workers are likely to support during elections.”
Mutasa said the policy conference would carefully analyse the choices of the political parties available and then come up with a position.
“The workers are going to choose that which is in their best interests. Workers have always been participating in the political space of this country well before independence. That is why all pre-independence political parties were founded and led by eminent trade union leaders of the time. Even after independence, trade unions fought and won battles for workers through the political processes,” he said.
During the 2013 elections, the ruling Zanu PF party led by former President Robert Mugabe promised that it would deliver two million jobs, but dismally failed to honour the promise.
“We also have been challenging political dictatorship, corruption, inequality, exclusion and other socio- economic ills through engaging in the politics of the country. We do not think workers anywhere in the world can disengage from participation in the politics of their country and expect to defend and promote their rights and interests. “As such the workers of Zimbabwe through their federation the ZCTU are keenly following political developments and will fully participate,” Mutasa said.
