johninnit

It will be a tense day in Harare today as members of the ZCTU and other Zimbabwean civil society organisations assemble symbolically outside their banks to protest at the management of the Reserve Bank of Zimbabwe under governor Gideon Gono.

The Bank is limiting cash withdrawals to $500,000 a week, though under mounting civil pressure has agreed to increase this to $100,000,000. This staggering amount (even after the country already devalued the dollar by 10 zeros back in June this year) is still not enough to buy a week’s worth of food and medicines (at the time of a serious outbreak of Cholera), and amounts to the Bank in effect appropriating ordinary people’s own money, leaving them unable to spend what savings they have whilst they’re still worth something. (more…)

The labour movement in Zimbabwe is being kept silent for yet another critical month, as Zimbabwean Congress of Trade Unions (ZCTU) leaders Wellington Chibebe and Lovemore Matombo turned up in court to face charges of “speading falsehoods prejudicial to the state”, only to find the prosecutor had again not turned up for the trial.

The human-rights infringing bail conditions of no public appearances for Wellington and Lovemore remain in force now until a new trial date of 17 September – no doubt strengthening Mugabe’s hand by keeping the ZCTU out of public opinion on the current power-sharing talks. (more…)

As Zimbabwe prepares to put its union leadership on trial for criticising the government’s violent excesses, a similar story is unfolding in neighbouring Swaziland. Jan Sithole, Secretary General of the Swaziland Federation of Trade Unions (SFTU), was arrested on Friday, after 30 armed police stormed his house in the early hours of the morning. (more…)

After the news that the ZCTU’s Wellington Chibebe and Lovemore Matombo will need to wait another month for their trial in Harare, keeping them silenced on unfair bail conditions that prohibit their addressing public gatherings, there are now worrying reports of another way the Mugabe regime is trying to shut up the embattled Zimbabwean union movement.

Ben Madzimure is the editor of the ZCTU’s journal, The Worker. He has been arrested after getting into a scuffle with a group of policemen. Apparently he witnessed the men indecently searching a female currency dealer in Central Harare, and when he protested this, they arrested him. After being taken to Harare Central Police Station, he is now being accused of writing falsehoods. ZCTU lawyers are trying to secure his release. (more…)

A quick, and getting rather late, plug for the new ITUC website, We Are ZCTU (www.wearezctu.org). It’s set up in support of Wellington Chibebe and Lovemore Matombo of the Zimbawe Congress of Trade Unions, who are due in court in Harare this Wednesday (30 July).

They’ve been charged with “spreading falsehoods prejudicial to the state”, which translates as telling the truth about the state-sponsored violence in the run up to the sham elections in their country. They were originally supposed to be in court last month, but the case was postponed, most likely so as to keep the punitive bail conditions in force for as long as possible, effectively shutting up the unions’ public voice whilst Mugabe got about stealing the election.

Unionists all over the world are coming out in support of the pair online, with a giant photo mosaic that you can pan and zoom on the new site, and other ways to show your support. (more…)

Wellington Chibebe and Lovemore Matombo are the leaders of the Zimbabwean union federation, the ZCTU. They were arrested after a May Day rally for ’spreading falsehoods prejudicial to the state’ (ie: telling the truth) and Mugabe is trying to silence them in the run up to the run off of the presidential election, with a trial on Monday that could go badly for them, and a ban on appearing in public or making public statements.

The TUC and others have an extremely ambitious plan to try to make a giant photo mosaic of Lovemore and Wellington, made up of  hundreds and hundreds of tiny pics of supporters’ faces from around the world. Wellington and Lovemore may be banned from appearing in public, but this is a nice way for thousands of people to show solidarity and help them to “appear” at the London demo called to conincide with their trial on Monday, and in other demos that will be happening around the world. The plan is to use the picture to get more attention on the issue and demos in the media. (more…)

Fantastic demonstrations of solidarity with Zimbabwe from the Namibia Transport and Allied Workers’ Union, and the South African Transport and Allied Workers Union, where unions have stepped up when government failed to act. A great example.

Mad Bob’s guns are on their way back to China in an alternative international relay just in time for the Olympics, and Thabo Mbeki has seen what his people really think of his stance – from a long way behind them.

Mind you, dockers round the world have a habit of doing that.

And we can all do a little bit too.

UPDATE 7/5/8: Very bad news (if it’s true, and not the regime trying to save face) from Blogger News Network

A lunchtime spent in the company of union colleagues from TUC, ATL, NASUWT, PCS, Unite and the ZCTU, ACTSA supporters and Zimbabwean expats outside Zimbabwe House on the Strand, protesting in support of the ZCTU’s 2 day stay away from work. (more…)

Anyone work near Charing Cross in London? If so, pop down to the Strand for your lunch break to join in an ACTSA/PCS/TUC demo in support of the Zimbabwe Congress of Trade Unions’ “stay away” from work. (more…)

Better weather for the Zimbabwe demonstration than Septemeber’s ZCTU one!

Many of the protestors seemed to be expats and involved with MDC (who have borne the brunt of the latest crackdown), but there was at least one Amicus “Solidarity with the ZCTU” placard on display, after the raid on their offices.

A core group of demonstrators kept up a lively dancing protest for ages, until they were obviously in need of a break, but overall there seemed to be a tangible sense of unease and fear for those affected by the latest round of arrests and violence. Hardly surprising when many more of the demonstrators were directly connected with events than those at the ZCTU demo last year.

ZimVigil have kept this pressure up for a long time now with their Saturday vigils. All strength to them in continuing for as long as is needed to see Zimbabwe finally free.