Zimbabwe govt maintains pressure to stifle strike
Zimbabwe govt maintains pressure to stifle strikeBy Reuters
Wednesday April 04, 2007 [11:21]
Zimbabwe President Robert Mugabe's government on Wednesday increased police patrols and stepped up a propaganda blitz to stifle a national strike over wages amid a devastating economic crisis. Many companies and shops in major cities were again open on Wednesday, the second and last day of a strike called by labor unions, as the government continued to issue warnings that organizers were "looking for trouble."
Mugabe's government says the Zimbabwe Congress of Trade Unions (ZCTU) called the strike as part of a plot by the main opposition Movement for Democratic Change (MDC) to oust it and promised tough action against any open protests.
ZCTU leaders and some independent analysts say fear crippled the boycott, but many people are nevertheless very angry over the economic crisis, which has seen inflation soar past 1,700 percent and left most workers struggling to pay their bills and feed their families.
The strike call came after Mugabe's government launched a widely condemned crackdown on the opposition which has left some of his rivals with severe injuries, including main opposition leader Morgan Tsvangirai.
On Wednesday, Zimbabwe riot police squads patrolled industrial districts and restive working class townships in the capital Harare in slightly larger numbers than on Tuesday.
posted by MrK @ 2:40 PM
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