Today is May Day, a day set aside to honour workers — to recognise their contribution to the national wellbeing and to thank them for their efforts to keep the wheels of the national economy turning.
THE STANDARD COMMENT
Traditionally, it is a day that workers converge in their numbers at venues organised by workers’ organisations to listen to addresses by their leaders and various sectoral representatives and also by the government’s Labour minister.
Usually, it is at such events that workers are told about the state of the country’s industry, commerce, civil service and other sectors. They are told about wages and salaries, conditions of work, employment levels, safety at work and other issues, including their demands for pay rises and the position of government, usually granting part of the demands.
For the past decade, however, all this has changed for workers in Zimbabwe as their world has progressively crumbled in their faces. Today, there is virtually nothing for Zimbabwean workers to celebrate. In fact, there are no more workers in this country and if today, people were to gather at the various venues around the country in the same numbers of yester-year, they would be gatherings of former workers.
Although the Zanu PF government, which has presided over the workers’ calamity, continues to curiously claim that there is in excess of 90% employment in this country, the reality remains negatively stark naked.
Where are the workers employed when industrial areas around the country have turned into spooky massive shells inside of which trees have grown, ripping off factory roofs and tearing apart brick and mortar structures?
Where are the workers employed when buildings in towns and cities — where commerce used to thrive — are now open ground screaming for occupation?
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Which people are working when streets and pavements are teeming with men and women of all ages, throughout the day — selling all sorts of wares from traditional herbs to second -hand lingerie? What are these people producing, what services are they providing in order to be classified as workers?
So, workers’ day in Zimbabwe has today become so meaningless as to be non-existent. Before its total decimation, this day was taken advantage of by politicians who sought to whip up emotions against the failures of the incumbent government. It helped set up powerful opposition political parties but slowly, that too became meaningless as the resultant political organisations failed to capitalise on the workers’ strength and let go opportunities to transform the workers’ welfare — until there were no more workers to talk about.
Even as we speak, the onslaught on the worker continues both in the private and public sectors. Government is busy smelling out and kicking away as many civil servants as it can in order to reach certain prescribed targets. The private sector too, still buoyed by that Supreme Court ruling and pushed by an untenable economic environment, continues to dump its workers in a vain bid to remain afloat.
This scenario is a true reflection of what Zimbabwe’s workers have become — a decimated and helpless lot of ex-workers. But it baffles the mind to hear the head of state of such a ravaged nation telling citizens that things are looking up; that the economy is on the rebound and that government must be commended for providing this hopeful environment.
These utterances by President Robert Mugabe on Independence Day surprised and angered many Zimbabweans, who wondered what was going on in the president’s head. Some people blamed his strange analysis of the economic situation in the country on his being out of the country most of the time and, therefore, out of touch with reality, but still many could not believe the president’s shocking ignorance of the state of the nation.
During the good days when this country used to have workers, government and politicians gave proper recognition of labour and workers’ demonstrations produced results. Demonstrations (peaceful protests) attracted proper attention.
It appears that today — given the recent peaceful demonstration in Harare by thousands of people demanding an explanation of the missing $15 billion diamond revenue, among other demands — peaceful demonstrations may be the only way that workers could be heard. What our politicians, Zanu PF and the MDCs alike, should learn to understand is that Zimbabweans may be a peace-loving, tame and tolerant lot who value peace; but survival instinct has the last word.
