Strike ban expires, new law being prepared

The Zimbabwe government is preparing legislation to restrict industrial action with the expiry this month of a presidential decree banning strikes, news reports said. The Harmonised Labour Bill would incorporate relevant provisions of the Presidential Powers Act under which strikes were restricted last November. Legal sources told IRIN that under the act, President Robert Mugabe would have to wait six months before reintroducing another strike-ban decree. The labour bill was reportedly presented to cabinet last month and was approved with minor alterations. It is now being redrafted by government lawyers to accommodate the cabinet's alterations, and is likely to be presented to parliament during the current session, the sources said. The ban was introduced following widespread industrial action led by the Zimbabwean Congress of Trade Unions (ZCTU) in protest against increases in commodity and fuel prices.