GWERU — The Zimbabwe Congress of Trade Unions (ZCTU) is teaching its members Mandarin to break the language barrier that has seen Chinese nationals flouting labour laws with impunity.
REPORT BY OWN CORRESPONDENT
ZCTU Central Region chairman Martin Tazvivinga told journalists yesterday that the region had recorded many cases where Chinese employers did not observe workers’ safety and health rights in the past years.
“Because of the language barrier, we have fulltime staff from our affiliate unions being taught Chinese so that when they meet with the employer, they can be able to articulate issues to do with safety, health and labour laws in general,” said Tazvivinga.
“We have had problems in the region with some Chinese, who even when they speak a bit of English, would pretend not to understand the language (English) when as labour we approach them on issues to do with workers’ rights.”