BULAWAYO – The Zimbabwe Congress of Trade Unions, the umbrella body for all Zimbabwean workers, on Sunday called for a nationwide job “stay-away” starting on Monday, accusing the government of “provocation” after the fuel price went up by 150 percent.
The ZCTU said the fight facing Zimbabweans was one of “survival”.
“The government has officially declared its anti-workers, anti-poor and anti-people ideological position by increasing fuel prices. Workers’ salaries have now been reduced to nothing and our suffering elevated to another level. We must and will mobilise and fight for our survival,” the ZCTU said in a statement on Sunday.
“After wide consultations, the ZCTU general council resolved to call for a nationwide stay-away with effect from Monday following the insensitive and provocative increase of fuel price by the President of Zimbabwe.”
President Emmerson Mnangagwa announced the shock fuel price increases on Saturday, with petrol now retailing for $3,31 and diesel $3,11. He said this was aimed at addressing a “persistent shortfall in the fuel market attributable to the increased fuel usage in the economy and compounded by rampant illegal currency and fuel trading activities.”
The ZCTU, which has been agitating for pay increases for workers in the wake of the rising cost of living, added: “Workers have been facing serious hardships as a result of the general astronomical price increases since last year, against stagnant salaries.
“The fuel increase added more misery to the suffering working class of Zimbabwe both in formal and informal sectors.”
The union said it reserved the right to pursue other forms of protest action on an “incremental basis”.
“There is nothing else pushing the workers besides the starvation and hardships afflicting every working-class household. Think about your family and do the right thing,” the ZCTU said.
In the midst of the crisis, Mnangagwa was due to fly out of Zimbabwe on Sunday and will be away for nearly two weeks, a decision that has been criticised by opposition parties.
The Zanu PF leader is seeking a bailout from Russia, Kazakhstan, Belarus and Azerbaijain to keep the economy afloat and his government in power. He is also due to attend the World Economic Forum in the Alpine Swiss town of Davos which runs from January 22 to January 25.
The trip is expected to cost Zimbabwean taxpayers upward of US$5 million in scarce foreign currency.
The fuel price increase is expected to spawn rampant price increases across the economy. Already on Sunday, transporter operators doubled fares in cities and towns – further increasing the burden on workers.
MDC vice president Welshman Ncube said it was not “abundantly clear” that the only condition for Zimbabwe’s progress was “the removal from power of Zanu PF in all its manifestations either as a civilian formation or quasi-military entity.”
The party has not said how it plans to achieve this as it continues to question the legitimacy of Mnangagwa, who was controversially declared the winner of Presidential Elections last July.
