ZCTU strike "unsuccessful"

A national stayaway called by the Zimbabwe Congress of Trade Unions (ZCTU)on Wednesday to bring about the reinstatement of its president and changes in managing the national pension fund was "unsuccessful". Mlamleli Sibanda, ZCTU's national spokesperson, told IRIN that only "40 percent" of workers had heeded the strike call. "Most workers came to work because of intimidation. Four of our regional leaders were arrested in Bulawayo [the country's second city]". However, Agence France-Presse (AFP) reported that the national strike had little effect in the capital Harare. The city centre was bustling, with morning traffic as heavy as usual and the majority of banks, shops and business establishements functioning normally, AFP reported ZCTU president Lovemore Matombo was fired last month from his position at Zimpost, the parastatal which runs the country's postal service, allegedly for having attended a conference organised by the Organisation of African Trade Union Unity in Sudan, without authority from his employer, as well as for disrupting a board meeting. "We also have a problem with the National Social Security Authority (NSSA), which controls the pension funds of all workers," Sibanda noted. "We have not received recent audited financial statements from the authority - we feel there is something wrong with the way the money is being handled." All workers have to contribute to the government-run pension fund. "But some of our workers who have retired are receiving a pension of only Zim $700 (about US 17 cents) a month. The funeral benefit only amounts to Zim $2,000 (about US 50 cents), which is nothing - you cannot even buy a coffin with that amount," he explained. Sibanda said the NSSA had provided them with the audited financial statements for the year 2000 last week, and that "we have been told we will receive the other statements by July". The NSSA could not be reached for comment. The ZCTU is also demanding the reinstatement of 41 of its members who were allegedly dismissed after a national strike in November last year. The trade union body - the largest in the country - is planning more stayaways.