Cuba observes May Day, bemoans global econmic crisis
By Larry Moonze in Havana, Cuba
Wed 02 May 2012, 09:00 CAT
CUBAN Workers Union general secretary Salvador Valdes Mesa has called for solidarity with those workers worldwide who are victims of the global economic crisis. And for the first time under the socialist revolution Cubans from the nascent private sector joined civil servants in commemorating workers day.
Valdes Mesa, flanked by President Raul Castro who maintained his custom of not addressing the nation on Labour Day, said while there were guarantees for Cuban workers elsewhere workers and other protesters were brutally repressed for demanding their rights.
Valdes Mesa told the hundreds of thousands of marchers who included 1,900 representatives of 209 organizations from 117 countries who attended the parade at Havana's iconic Jose Marti Revolution Square that Cuba's onus was to perfect its socialist system so as to better the living conditions of its citizens.
He said every Cuban worker must put in their best if the country was to increase exports thereby reducing imports as part of the ongoing socio-economic reforms.
Valdes Mesa called for increased food and industrial production on the basis of savings and improving productivity.
"We call on everyone to work with discipline and order as a contribution to the Revolution whose continuity depends on the ability to eradicate our own mistakes including curbing economic crimes such as corruption," he said. "When we raise the flags of unity we show that the homeland, the Revolution and socialism are inextricably merged because unity will be the key to preserving the nation and the economic and social gains."
Valdes Mesa said mobilization was the most genuine expression of support from workers and the general citizenry for the revolutionary regime and its socialist policy.
He congratulated the tens of thousands of workers that in several places around the globe took internationalist missions.
"We send a message of solidarity with workers worldwide who are victims of the global economic crisis and are brutally repressed for demanding their rights," Valdes Mesa said.
He called on the US to immediately end the embargo against Cuba and to also release the Cuban five men (Gerardo Hernandez, Ramon Labanino, Fernando Gonzalez, Antonio Guerrero and Rene Gonzalez) arrested 13 years ago for infiltrating ultra-rightwing Cuban exiles whom Havana accused of terror activities against the island.
Valdes Mesa said for Cuban workers the May 1 parade was a march for peace and future of humanity.
Gerardo Dominguez, 47, an employee with state telephone company (ETECSA) said Labour Day for the bourgeoisie was something similar to a slap on the face.
He said for Cuban workers May 1 was the greatest thing that ever existed.
"This day has been important all my life," Dominguez said in an interview. "I will keep on cherishing it because I will die a worker. All workers come here in support of the revolution and because here the rights of the worker are guaranteed."
Dominguez said the ongoing economic reforms which the Cuban government refer to as economic updating or adjustment were necessary.
"The adjustments are a necessity in order to preserve the many things we have achieved and overall on the side of internationalism and solidarity we will maintain the principle that we don't give what is in excess but that we share with others the little that we have," said Dominguez.
Another participant who only identified herself as Blanca said the workers parade was a demonstration to the world that Cuban workers were at the centre to finding solutions to socio-economic challenges.
"We are here trying to express our desire to find solutions to the effects of the global crisis and the reorganization of our own economy," she said.
Blanca said with the reforms Cuba could transform herself within 10 years.
"Ten years from today, I wish we get there in the manner we are proceeding, that is in peace without war and hoping also that climate change does not affect us too much and we are not invaded," said Blanca.
And in a sign the reforms have truly taken shape, several hundreds of self-employed Cubans (cuenta propistas) joined the parade.
Oscar Barrero, a chef at La Pachanga Restaurant, said he was overjoyed to join the parade for the first time as a Cuban from the private sector.
"We desire that we all get together and march as we did before as workers under state institutions because we are all Cubans working in different sectors to better our land," he said. "This is an honour."
Barrero said La Pachanga Restaurant located in Havana's Vedado area opened its doors over a year ago and today had 41 employees.
"We are in a marvelous situation," said Barrero. "Businesswise I think we are doing fine. We don't need any state assistance now. We are seeing an upward movement in clients and our biggest challenge is to better service delivery."
Labels: CUBA, LABOUR DAY, RAUL CASTRO
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President honours State House workers
Wednesday, 02 May 2012 00:00
PRESIDENT Mugabe says workers are the backbone of every economy who should be accorded the respect they deserve. He said this during a May Day luncheon hosted by the First Family for workers at State House.
The Head of State and Government and Commander-in-Chief of the Zimbabwe Defence Forces said workers were an integral part of every economy and deserve respect. He urged employers to take note of the contributions of their workers.
“We are also workers . . . we work for our country, even ministers are workers. What is important is for employers to take note of their employees’ contributions,” he said.
The President said May Day celebrations were very important and the UN set the day for workers to be remembered. The First Lady Amai Grace Mugabe urged workers to remain united and respect each other.
“Workers are critical components of the economy and should be given the respect they deserve as their contributions to companies and organisations are immeasurable.”
After the luncheon, the workers who included groundsmen, cooks, waiters, drivers and security personnel joined the First Lady on the dance floor.
This is the first time the First Family has hosted a luncheon for State House workers. On Monday, the First Lady hosted a luncheon for workers at her orphanage in Mazowe.
In an interview with ZBC News, Amai Mugabe said workers should not be treated like inferior beings if organisations are to reap intended benefits.
“I have respect for my workers. They are such caring mothers to the orphans at this home. Even if I am not around, one cannot tell the difference.
“Sometimes I would just come in without pronouncing my visit and sanity will just be prevailing, so there is really the need to understand the plight of workers,” said the First Lady.
Workers Day is celebrated worldwide to commemorate the economic and social achievements of workers. — Herald Reporter/ZBCNews.
Labels: LABOUR DAY, ROBERT MUGABE, STATE HOUSE
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Let’s improve the lives of workers
By THe Post
Sun 01 May 2011, 04:00 CAT
TODAY, this Sunday May 1, is International Labour Day. And for us in Zambia, this year’s workers’ day has added importance because it comes at a time when we have to make very important political choices.
Labour Day is an opportune time to review the conditions of our workers and all our working people in order to prepare for better working conditions. And in this election year, we would add that Labour Day is an opportune time to review our past in order to prepare for better political choices for the future.
Fackson Shamenda, former president of the Zambia Congress of Trade Unions and a highly internationally respected trade unionist, has summarised very well the challenges and problems facing our workers and their trade unions or the labour movement in general.
For the first time since independence, we have a political party in government that is more on the side of capital than workers; a government that defends capital at the expense of labour.
We now have in government a political party that has decimated the labour movement in our country.
Today trade unions are just there in name and not in works.
Our key trade union leaders have been co-opted, in one way or another, to be at the service of those in power, the defenders of capital and transnational corporations.
For some of our trade union leaders today, it is not difficult to discern who they represent between capital and government on the one hand and the workers on the other.
They have become so close to the government that it is becoming increasingly difficult to distinguish between them and cadres of the ruling party.
Trade union leaders are in the forefront of defending the government and the ruling party than defending the interests of the workers.
It is not surprising that the ruling party today is usually in the forefront campaigning for trade union leaders it wants to be in charge of the labour movement.
It is also not surprising that leading trade unionists are today being appointed to serve as top directors of parastatal enterprises or quasi-governmental organisations, thus weakening the leadership of our trade unions and the labour movement in general.
This has left workers in a very difficult situation as far as improving their conditions is concerned.
Today, the Church is speaking more for workers than the leaders of trade unions.
And workers today are relying more and more on the Church and the opposition political leaders to speak for them because trade union leaders have become irrelevant in the scheme of things.
Politics has become the only meaningful way for workers to participate in determining the policies that affect their lives.
“Workers are the greatest resource of every country!”
How often do we hear that statement, especially during Labour Day? And how true is it for us here in Zambia!
Our workers are indeed our greatest resource, the producers of all wealth, our richest treasure, our best hope for the future.
Yet today in Zambia, this worker counts for nothing; we every day hear of his deterioration and exploitation.
We every day hear of his great suffering, a suffering which by and large seems to go unnoticed by those in power and is often inadequately responded to by those in government.
It is criminal to remain silent in the face of these sufferings that our workers are subjected to.
We are glad that the Church, as always, is responding favourably to the challenges and problems facing our workers.
Probably the word of God challenges them: “If you refuse to hear the cry of the poor, your own cry for help will not be heard” (Proverbs 21:13).
And as such they speak out and call upon all our people of goodwill to deal more forthrightly with this increasing exploitation and suffering in our midst. We all know our workers’ suffering.
Listening to the cries of the workers every day, and especially on Labour Day, then, what are we asking for?
We call upon the government to deal with the challenges and problems facing our workers.
Our workers are losing faith in the government’s concern for them and their problems and sufferings.
Aside from political rhetoric here and there, very little concrete expression of real concern for the workers is heard or seen from government officials.
Appeals for workers to be patient and modest in their demands can only be perceived as cynical at best, abusive at worst, when they come from officials who receive such disproportionate high salaries, allowances, gratuities and other benefits.
For instance, how can Rupiah Banda, as President of this country, morally ask the workers to be patient or modest in their demands when he himself just changed the law to give himself gratuity that he did not qualify for?
There seems to be very little effective action taking place in responding to the sufferings, challenges and problems of the workers.
The workers are more and more turning to opposition politicians for support because they know that their poor conditions, their impoverishment is caused by the unjust political, economic and social structures.
All workers have the right to receive a just wage.
And all forms of business that place profit before persons and are based on exploitation of one by another deserve condemnation.
If there is austerity required in the nation, it needs to be shared equally among all, including the top political leadership of the country.
It is an injustice for politicians to pay themselves all sorts of gratuities and other benefits while the conditions of workers have remained stagnant for many years and those who have retired are going without their benefits.
The rights of workers, like all rights, are based on the nature of the human person and his transcendent dignity.
Among these rights are: a just wage; a working environment not harmful to the workers’ physical health or their moral integrity; social security, and the right to meaningful trade union representation.
We say meaningful trade union representation because some of our trade unions are just trade unions in name.
What workers need are trade unions that enable them to improve their conditions.
And such trade unions should be valued and promoted by everybody in the nation.
Remuneration for work should guarantee workers a dignified livelihood for themselves and their families.
To achieve this, there may be a need for the government to meaningfully and appropriately regulate industries and commerce to protect workers’ rights and to curb exploitation.
These are the challenges that we collectively need to address.
There is need to help workers reorganise and re-energise their trade unions so that they can have meaningful representation to the owners and managers of capital and indeed to the government itself.
Labels: LABOUR DAY
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Listen to Mineworkers Union of Zambia
By The Post
Tue 07 Sep. 2010, 04:00 CAT
THE comments by Mineworkers Union of Zambia general secretary Oswell Munyenyembe deserve to be reflected on seriously. A government that does not listen to its people and ignores their sentiments on matters that affect them is courting trouble.
This seems to be the route on which Rupiah Banda is firmly entrenched. Rupiah has made it very clear by his actions and inactions that he is not in government to listen to what the people have to say and to deliver on their wishes.
We say this because the amount of arrogance and disregard for the interest of our people in many of the things that Rupiah claims to be doing for our benefit is startling.
Rupiah seems determined to mortgage our country in such a way that our children will remain slaves and serfs tied to the whims of international capital for generations to come. Rupiah does not seem concerned that some of the actions that he is taking are actually not sustainable but a recipe for strife and disaster in years to come.
Rupiah has the worrying obstinacy of an ignorant man who decides he knows everything and everybody must listen to him. It would be okay if Rupiah was being obstinate about leading the country in the right direction for the benefit of all. But that is not the case. It is very clear that the stubborn positions that Rupiah takes rarely, if ever, have anything to do with public interest.
It’s a question of doing deals. And what is more unacceptable is that personal or family interests are always in the vicinity of what should be serious government decisions. Rupiah now lacks the credibility to make decisions that can be trusted because of his public commitment towards patronage, nepotism, added to which is his government’s determined attempt to legalise abuse of office.
It cannot be denied that the government by its very nature is a difficult undertaking. Indeed, it is an undertaking that requires those who run it to sometimes make decisions that will not please everyone. This is understood.
But it becomes scandalous, if a government chooses for its mode of operation, conduct that readily opens it to suspicion and accusations of corruption and other forms of abuse of power.
But this is exactly what Rupiah has done. It is next to impossible to find any government decision, of an economic nature, that can be said to have been done solely in the public interest.
There is always this or that interest being served. Rupiah seems to have fully adopted Frederick Chiluba’s criminal commandist grip over the economy, where everything was run from State House. This is what opened Chiluba to the problems that he has faced.
The presidency by its nature commands a lot of power and unless one is very disciplined, the path to its abuse and consequent self-destruction is astonishingly easy for a president given our current constitutional arrangement. There’s virtually no check on the powers of the president. He reigns supreme as long as he remains in office.
But the powers of the president can also be a force for good if they are exercised with public interest and public good as the guiding principle.
Such an approach would also have to accept the principle that the powers the president holds are held in trust for the people and not meant for his or her illicit benefit. A president who thinks that the powers he holds are for his benefit and his family and friends is destined for disgrace. And this is what we see with Rupiah.
The propensity to use government power for personal benefit is what has eroded the confidence of our people in the decisions of the government. This is why we said the words of Mineworkers Union of Zambia general secretary Munyenyembe require some reflection.
What Munyenyembe and the Mineworkers Union of Zambia are concerned about is something that should bother a government that works in the public interest. For a while now, the Mineworkers Union of Zambia have been expressing concerns about a number of issues which suggest that they are not convinced that their government is making decisions taking into account the consequences on the welfare of their members and future generations.
Rupiah and his friends appear prepared to settle for very little whilst giving away a lot to some so-called foreign investors. Investment is not a bad thing in itself. If anything, it is important. But investment that robs our people of their dignity and endangers their enjoyment of their heritage is destructive.
The decisions that are being made should take into account the feelings of our people. This is because these decisions are supposedly made on their behalf. It is our people who will have to live with the consequences of Rupiah’s decisions long after it is forgotten that Rupiah was president.
Rupiah does not appear concerned at all about the consequences of his decisions. Our people are traditionally very welcoming to foreigners but this should not be taken for granted. There’s an increasing feeling that some of the foreigners who are coming to invest in our country are insensitive to the feelings of our people and dismissive of the contributions that they make.
It is these things that make Mineworkers Union of Zambia and others concerned about the deals that Rupiah and his government are making with all sorts of investors that are going to impact on the mining sector. Investment that is going to increase tension and polarisation in our country, although lucrative, according to Rupiah, needs to be weighed and weighed very carefully.
We already have problems with Chinese investment in our country. Many of our people are concerned about the way that the government seems prepared to mortgage our economy to our Chinese friends.
There’s nothing wrong with Chinese investment per se. It is the government that seems to do very little to ensure that this type of investment works in the interests of our people, especially those that are employed in the sectors that the investment targets.
Rupiah and his friends need to do more to ensure those that are coming to invest realise that good relations with our people are as important as a return on their investment. Bad relations with our people do not only endanger their investment but also our nation. An unhappy labour force is not a good guarantee for people and tranquillity.
It is only a matter of time before things get out of hand. This is what Rupiah and his friends should bear in mind as they celebrate this or that investment. They must ask themselves: how does this affect our people?
It is wrong for Rupiah and his government to accuse the Mineworkers Union of Zambia of being used by the opposition when they express their concerns about the quality of investors that government is attracting to our country.
If Rupiah and his friends were interested in doing what is in the public interest, they would take the concerns raised by the labour unions and use them to negotiate proper investment packages that address the demands of the people.
But this is not how Rupiah and his friends behave when they negotiate on behalf of our country. Instead of fighting to get the best possible deals, the best possible agreements, they behave like regional managers for the so-called investors and do everything to ensure that the investors get everything they want.
They are not even prepared to argue for a comma in the agreements if it benefits our people. Rupiah’s behaviour is endangering our country’s future independence. His ignorance has deluded him into believing that he is in control when he is daily ceding our independence to forces that he has no control over.
This is why he can even go so far as to tell donors, who are trying to help our people, to go away. This man has no clue and no idea of what is happening in his own country.
Labels: LABOUR, LABOUR DAY, MUZ, NEOCOLONIALISM, OSWELL MUNYENYEMBE
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HCAWUZ condemns Royal Solwezi’s ‘T-shirt awards’ for Labour Day
By Edwin Mbulo in Livingstone and Fridah Zinyama in Lusaka
Wed 05 May 2010, 03:10 CAT
HOTEL Catering and Allied Workers Union of Zambia (HCAWUZ) president Mubiana Sitwala says it is shameful and an insult for the Royal Solwezi Hotel to give workers T-shirts as Labour Day awards.
But Royal Solwezi Hotel managing director Litana Shindaile refuted claims that the T-shirts were meant as rewards for deserving employees, adding that the truck carrying the awards to be presented to the employees and other items was delayed at Kazungula Border Post.
Commenting on Royal Solwezi Hotel’s awarding of T-shirts to three of its workers for hard work during Saturday’s Labour Day celebrations, Sitwala said it was clear some investors had lost respect for the government and workers.
“What employers or investors should know is that when they come into Zambia to invest, there is Labour Day on the Zambian calendar and they have a year to prepare decent awards to give to deserving workers instead of ending up insulting workers by giving t-shirts worth K20, 000,” Sitwala said. “It is not only Royal Solwezi Hotel. We have some investors even here in Livingstone who awarded workers up to K100, 000.
It is an insult and we have compiled a list so we are basically saying that all the employers in our industry who gave less than K5 million as awards to workers are being given 48 hours to award workers more decently or risk being black-listed by our union. We have the power to force organisations and government not to do business with these investors in terms of conferences and workshops.”
He said the union had been trying very hard to get employers in the hospitality industry to have their workers registered with the labour movement but that the labour department had been in many instances compromised by the employers.
“We have had a lot of cases involving abuse of workers rights and every time workers report, they are met with a lot of negative attitude by some labour officers who seem to be getting brown envelopes from employer’s mostly foreign ones. We have a list of such employers who are culprits and we want the government to sit down with us to review the performances of most of these so-called investors,” he said.
Sitwala said the Solwezi case was a clear sign that some employers had lost respect for the government.
“We need a harsh minister of labour if we are to get the respect we deserve from some employers.
If you take a survey out there, you will find that most of these employers are even evading tax by downsizing the number of their employees. Worse still, the Royal Solwezi Hotel incidence is loss of respect for government by the employer. I would not be surprised to find that the hotel is found wanting in many areas of their operations,” he said.
He said the government should review most of the investment licences of certain hotels and lodges.
“We have offered them a very good and conducive atmosphere to do business but what do we get in return as the owners of the land?
It is insults and abuse of workers as seen by a lot of the investors in the hospitality industry who don’t want to have their workers belong to a union of their choice. So to this end, we are giving Royal Solwezi Hotels 48 hours to award the three workers up to K5 million as per Labour Day circular.”
Phillip Mudumuka, Henry Kapamendi and Mirriam Kayebeta were awarded T-shirts as Labour Day awards.
However Shindaile yesterday that the spirit of getting both sides was not exercised when the story was first written.
“The awards for the employees were bought from South Africa and could not be presented during the occasion because the truck carrying them and other items was delayed at Kazungula Border Post,” he explained.
“As a responsible corporate social partner, we feel that it will be demotivating and below acceptable standards for a hotel such as Royal Solwezi to award t-shirts to its deserving employees during Labour Day celebrations. The T-shirts that were taken to the podium were meant for deserving employees to wear as representatives of Royal Solwezi and not prizes as portrayed by the people who put together the event.”
Shindaile said contrarily to the picture portrayed during the Labour Day celebrations, the hotel management had made necessary arrangements to buy awards for the workers which would reflect the true meaning for the occasion.
“As soon as the goods are delivered, I will personally take them to the labour office who will in turn give them to the recipients,” he said.
He said the deserving workers would be given reasonable prizes as soon as the parcels arrived.
Shindaile said Zambia Congress of Trade Unions (ZCTU) provincial secretary Benson Ng’ambi (who criticized the award) was creating animosity between employers and the workers because of his hidden agendas which are only designed to discredit investors in the area.
“We know that it is not always a must that the awards are given to employees during the Labour Day Celebration. Some companies give them out later to suit their programmes and convenience,” he said.
Shindaile said that Benson had a personal agenda to drive and should not drag other people into his battles.
Labels: HCAWUZ, LABOUR DAY, MUBIANA SITWALA
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