Solidarity with Zimbabwe Congress of Trade Unions

The crisis in Zimbabwe has its origins in the misdeeds of President Mugabe's autocratic regime and its mismanagement of the economy. The economy is on the verge of collapse, with officially confirmed hyperinflation at 1,700% per year. The country’s GNI shrank by 54% in 2000-2005 while unemployment today stands at over 80%. Protests against the regime have been led by the Zimbabwe Congress of Trade Unions (ZCTU - the ITUC affiliate in Zimbabwe), student, youth and church groups. Since the disputed re-election of President Mugabe in 2002, there has been a steady deterioration in human rights and the economy, reducing Zimbabwe to a land of penury and starvation. In 2005, more than 30,000 arrests were made and hundreds of urban dwellings were demolished under the guise of "a clean-up campaign" aimed at workers in the informal economy who had been increasingly turning to the trade unions. In September 2006, a large number of trade unionists and human rights activists were arrested and brutally assaulted following a peaceful protest over the state of the economy and shortages of essential medicines. Alarmed at the growing willingness to oppose the regime openly, including from within the ruling ZANU-PF party, the regime has banned political protests for three months, especially to prevent protests against the Government's economic failures. But the ZCTU and others have responded by stepping up their criticisms and protests, and a general strike has been announced for 3-4 April. Over the weekend of 10-11 March, the security services violently attacked opposition leaders and on 13 March, raided the offices of the ZCTU to seize materials about the strike.

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