Union leaders freed

Four leaders of the Zimbabwe Congress of Trade Unions (ZCTU) have been released on bail after a short court appearance on Monday, the labour body reported. The four - secretary-general Wellington Chibebe and colleagues Lucia Matibenga, Sam Machinda, and Timothy Kondo - were arrested on 5 August under the Public Order and Security Act (POSA) in Gweru, south of the capital, Harare, while attending a workshop on the impact of taxation and HIV/AIDS on workers. According to the ZCTU, the four were initially accused of holding the workshop without police clearance, but the charge was later altered to uttering public comments likely to cause despondency. "The police action was a deliberate attack on the rule of law they are supposed to protect," the union movement alleged. The arrests triggered protest from international labour organisations. In a letter to President Robert Mugabe, the International Confederation of Free Trade Unions wrote: "Your government is again seen as violating the international labour standards and practices by proceeding to arrest ZCTU leaders who were on legitimate trade union duties. These actions repeat themselves regularly, and represent deliberate attempts to intimidate and frustrate genuine workers' representatives from discharging their duties." IRIN was unable to obtain comment from the police. The four union leaders were released on Zim $200,000 bail [US $40] each and are set to reappear in court in Gweru on 8 September.