More stayaways loom

The Zimbabwe Congress of Trade Unions (ZCTU) was in a quandary after its two-day stayaway on Wednesday, over its next move to force the government to scrap sharp fuel price increases. At the same time, its leadership faced pressure from its members to plan indefinite mass action, including demonstrations against President Robert Mugabe, the ‘Financial Gazette’ has reported. The ZCTU was due to convene a meeting soon to evaluate the impact of the mass action and to plot its next moves, the weekly newspaper said on Thursday.

The stayaway forced virtually all businesses countrywide to shut down in spite of the fact that it had been banned by the government. By late on Wednesday, the report said, there was no sign that the government, which increased fuel prices by an unprecedented 75 percent last month, would reverse the increase. ZCTU secretary general Wellington Chibhebhe was quoted saying: “We are synthesising what the people within our structures countrywide are saying and we are aware of their feelings. Even before we started this action, the signal we were getting from our forums countrywide was to engage in a prolonged sustained effort and this is still the feeling right now.” However, he said it was up to the full ZCTU general council to map out the union’s next move when it met, possibly as soon as the weekend. In terms of the law, the government must be given 14 days’ notice of any proposed action. The ZCTU estimated that more than 80 percent of workers heeded the call to stayaway.

Meanwhile, a Reuters report on Thursday quoted analysts saying that Mugabe’s unexpected restraint during the strike had fuelled speculation that his government was divided on how to deal with its political opponents. Riot police were deployed during the strike, but police did not crack down on strikers as they had done in previous labour actions, the report said. “I don’t think Mugabe’s slight restraint is a case of a new political conviction. I think what we saw here was a new crisis over a campaign strategy for the presidential elections,” political analyst Masipula Sithole was quoted saying.

He said the ruling ZANU-PF party leadership was split between the hawks who favoured last year’s violent campaign on the opposition, and doves who believed the party “will not win by wielding the stick and using the fist and knobkerrie”. Chenjerai Hove, a leading political commentator, said a change of strategy in ZANU-PF would take time to implement. “I don’t think they know exactly what to do at this stage. There are two major groups in the party with very strong beliefs, one advocating violence and another saying violence is proving counter-productive,” he was quoted saying.