Unions Give Mugabe 72-Hour Ultimatum To Reverse,’Diabolic ‘ Ruling & Amend Labour Laws

Trade Unions have given President Robert Mugabe, employers and Parliament a 72-hour ultimatum for them to reverse the Supreme Court judgement which gave employers the right to terminate workers contracts on a three-month notice without benefits.

The ruling was made by Chief Justice Godfrey Chidyausiku a fortnight ago and has resulted in the loss of an estimated more than 10 000 jobs countrywide with Econet, ZIMASCO, Sino-Zim and the NRZ firing a significant number of workers.

Media houses such as Alpha Media, Associated Newspapers of Zimbabwe and Financial Gazette have not spared their employees either.

Speaking at a joint press conference in Harare Friday, Union leaders, led by Progressive Teachers’ Union of Zimbabwe (PTUZ)’s Raymond Majongwe, demanded an immediate effective moratorium on all dismissals pending the amendment of the Labour Act and Constitution to guarantee job security for every employee.

“We are giving the government (Mugabe in particular) a 72-hour ultimatum to reverse the ruling and amend labour laws immediately,” said PTUZ leader, Majongwe.

Majongwe attacked Mugabe and his cronies, saying time was up for Zimbabweans to benefit from the country’s resources which were in the hands of the few elite.

“This madness should be reversed and Mugabe should invoke emergency powers of 1983 when he was Prime Minister in the case State vs Jovener and swiftly reinstate sacked workers and halt all dismissals,” fumed Majongwe.

“We reject this ‘farmer judgement’ and this time we are not going to march to Parliament or State house, but we will march to the companies’ premises that have dismissed workers,” he said.

Majongwe acussed the state and judiciary of returning the country back into the Cecil John Rhodes era based on the exploitation and strangulation of workers through draconian laws.

He said: “Workers have been plunged into an industrial death row where the cloud of job uncertainty remains unrelenting and dependent on the benevolence of the industrial hangman.

“This time workers are prepared to shed blood for their livelihood and I want to tell Mugabe that his divide and rule policy will not work this time around.

“We are reacting to a diabolic judgement which is satanic, just wait until Monday.”

Majongwe said the unions were being manipulated by government to cause divisions. source-newzimbabwe