Maravi

Zim labour movement engages govt

Zim labour movement engages govt
By George Chellah in Harare, Zimbabwe
Tuesday July 03, 2007 [04:00]

ZIMBABWE Congress of Trade Unions (ZCTU) president Lovemore Matombo has said the labour movement is engaging the government and other social partners to try and stabilise the current economic situation. And Matombo said it was unfair for the government to tax people living below the poverty datum line.

In an interview, Matombo said as the most dominant labour centre in Zimbabwe, ZCTU was playing its role.

“We are engaging social partners who are the government, employers and the workers themselves with the view to try and stabilise the current economic environment to turn round the economy,” Matombo said.

“ZCTU in Zimbabwe has played its part in signing the Price and Incomes stabilisation Protocol early this month.”

He said the labour movement was also trying to encourage other social partners to appreciate the position of labour.

“We are trying to do this in regard to the Kadoma declaration, which deals basically with the areas of political governance and the country risk factors. And how we can address the country’s risk factors in terms of politics, economics and in terms of social issues,” Matombo said.

“That’s why we currently have a workshop where we have invited the Minister of Labour and Reserve Bank of Zimbabwe (RBZ) governor and other social partners to see whether we can try and sing from the same hymn book.

“So that’s what we are trying to do in Zimbabwe, the issue of Zimbabwe really is a political issue and at times the trade union are found between a hard rock and a hard surface and we will do all we can to assist.”

Matombo said the labour movement has no option but to work together with the government. “It all depends as to where each one stands and which interest each one is trying to protect,” he said.

He said the element of accommodation the government provides sometimes was conditional. “But the global environment suggest that people have to view things not necessarily from the same wavelength but really you need to be tolerant and be accommodative. The aspect of intolerance is the major impediment,” Matombo said. “But we will always be there as they say, ‘where there is capital there is labour’. ZCTU shall be there as long as there are still employers in this country. So defiantly, we will be there and we will play our role.”

On the reviewed tax bands, Matombo said it was unfair for government to tax poor people.
“The tax bands really is nothing I want to assure you because what we discussed on the Prices and Income stabilisation Protocol sometime in 2001 was that it has to be self-adjusting,” Matombo said.

“Whenever inflation rises, obviously it does affect the poverty levels...financial wise, income wise and we had agreed that it has to be self-adjusting. We don’t need to negotiate that but they preferred to deal with it on the piecemeal basis. You don’t tax a person who is living below the poverty datum line.”

Labels: LABOUR, ZCTU, ZIMBABWE

posted by MrK @ 11:23 PM