THE Zimbabwe Congress of Trade Union (ZCTU) last week staged country-wide demonstrations to highlight a range of issues ‘affecting’ workers, including the decision to freeze and cut salaries as well as the perceived economic meltdown.
Despite trying all worker agitation tricks, the ZCTU much talked about demonstrations dismally failed to take off.
Only a few placard-waving workers marched through the streets of Harare, Masvingo, Bulawayo, Gweru, Chinhoyi and Mutare.
There was no police interference during the march in Harare which started along Jason Moyo Street up to Fourth Street before turning to Kaguvi Building which houses the offices of the Ministry of Labour and Social Welfare.
It was as if nothing was happening.
In addition along the way, majority of onlookers seemed uninterested, going about their business of the day.
The poorly attended event was marked by shame as participants later wore their regalia inside-out on their way home following the complete flop.
The flop is another issue, but to understand the underlying cause of the low turnout is important as it defines modern day Zimbabwe.
The ZCTU is still to come to terms as to why their demos were poorly attended, in turn offering a wide range of disguised excuses.
It seems they did not see it coming, but it was all in black and white.
The majority of people in Zimbabwe are employed in the informal sector.
The informal sector refers to activities and income that are partially or fully outside government regulation, taxation and observation.
The informal sector contributes around 20 percent of the country’s Gross Domestic Product (GDP) or a total value added of about US$2 billion.
According to a Zimbabwe National Statistics Agency (ZIMSTATS) survey of six million, only 11 percent of Zimbabweans are in formal employment.
About 84 percent are in informal employment, the largest group being in the wholesale and retail sector, repair of motor vehicles and motor cycles, thereby constituting 52 percent, followed by other services and manufacturing at 14 percent each.
With so many people in informal employment, the ZCTU finds it hard to mobilise workers into any meaningful collective job action.
This explains why many onlookers did not find it essential to join the demos as they were busy with their businesses.
Those in the formal and informal employment have deemed ZCTU irrelevant, describing the union leaders as politicians rather than workers’ representatives.
They described ZCTU as a failed movement in trade unionism.
“Zimbabweans are too busy to participate in cheap political processes,” said one spectator Tinotenda Charwe.
“People want empowerment and things that give them food on the table and not to be used by charlatans who have failed to show their relevance in society.”
Another onlooker from Domboshawa, Mukudzei Madondo said ZCTU had become a zombie being used to propagate foreign agendas.
He accused the union leaders of wining and dining with different government regimes from the West at the expense of protecting interests of the working class.
“Who does not know that ZCTU is a Movement for Democratic Change (MDC)?” asked Madondo.
It is important to note that The ZCTU died with Morgan Tsavngirai at the helm when it gave birth to the MDC in 1999.
In many instances officials in ZCTU were MDC officials at the same time.
So the ZCTU was MDC and the MDC was ZCTU.
Such is the history of this so-called trade union that got a clear message last week that ‘Zimbabweans want to work, not demonstrate’.