Union leaders arrested in first day of strike

Police on Wednesday arrested eight trade union leaders on the first day of a three-day strike called to protest fuel price increases and hyper-inflation in Zimbabwe. The Zimbabwe Congress of Trade Unions (ZCTU) orchestrated the stay-away with the support of the opposition Movement for Democratic Change (MDC). ZCTU general-secretary Wellington Chibebe told IRIN on Wednesday that among the eight trade union leaders held in Bulawayo was the ZCTU's second vice president, Elias Mlotshwa. "We understand they're still in custody," Chibebe said. Agence France Presse reported there was mixed response to the strike in the capital Harare. Many people who reported for work found their workplaces shut. Others failed to make it to work because many privately operated bus services did not run on Wednesday. However, the Associated Press (AP) reported that banks, factories and stores across Zimbabwe were forced to close when workers heeded the call to strike. AP reported that tensions ran high as police manned roadblocks on main highways and troops patrolled impoverished townships in eastern Harare.