BRUXELLES, 28 September: The International Trade Union Confederation, ITUC, strongly protests against the use of firearms that occurred on Friday 25 September against workers in Shabanie Mine in the mining town of Zvishavane, Zimbabwe.
According to the information received by the ITUC, the injured workers, who are now being treated at White Hospital in Zvishavane under police guard, were participating in demonstrations on 24 September over the non-payment of salaries since January 2009.
The action by the workers started over three weeks ago on 7 September, but the mine officials have been unwilling to address the matter. An undisclosed number of workers have also been arrested while trying to visit their injured colleagues in hospital.
In another conflict recently reported to the ITUC, large scale threats against striking workers resulted in the dismissal of 23 trade union leaders by Zimasco after a collective action on 17 June.
– Zimbabwe has ratified key ILO Conventions on freedom of association and the right to organize, so it has a clear obligation under international law to allow trade unions the right to freedom of assembly, said Guy Ryder, ITUC general secretary, and added:
Again Zimbabwe is the theatre of unacceptable violation of trade union rights..
In a letter sent to the authorities, the ITUC urges President Robert Mugabe to take all necessary measures, without delay, to address the ongoing violations of trade union rights in Zimbabwe.
ITUC represents 170 million workers in 157 countries and territories and has 312 national affiliates.
Kilde: www.ituc-csi.org
