HARARE – United States Secretary of State Michael Pompeo expressed concern Friday at the targeting of trade union leaders by Zimbabwe’s security forces.
In a statement to mark the 100th anniversary of the founding of the International Labour Organisation (ILO), Pompeo said the United States was a strong supporter of the ILO and its mission – advancing the rights of workers globally.
Noting deteriorating conditions for workers in places like China, Venezuela and Iran, Pompeo zeroed in on Zimbabwe, accusing authorities of brutalising and harassing workers’ leaders.
“The ILO has done important work in Zimbabwe, where security forces have committed acts of violence and harassment against trade union leaders. We remain concerned that government interference with trade union activity remains common in Zimbabwe,” Pompeo said in a statement.
On the day that Pompeo issued his statement, Zimbabwean police in Hwedza arrested Obert Masaraure, the leader of the Amalgamated Rural Teachers’ Union.
Human rights lawyer Doug Coltart said: “Since December, he has been abducted and tortured twice, arrested four times, imprisoned and denied medical treatment. The state is persecuting him for standing up for teachers.”
Reflecting on the formation of the ILO, Pompeo said: “The dignitaries that convened in Paris in 1919 to end the Great War knew that any lasting peace needed to be rooted in the protection of individual rights, including the rights of workers and employers to associate freely and bargain collectively.
“The United States proudly hosted the first International Labour Conference in 1919 and the war-time conference that enshrined the ILO’s enduring founding principles and aims in the Declaration of Philadelphia
“As strong supporters of the ILO and its mission, we reflect on the important role played by Americans to create and sustain this organisation, including David Morse, who served as ILO Director-General for 22 years, and under whose leadership the ILO won the Nobel Peace Prize.”
