COSATU condemns Zimbabwe police action against union leader
COSATU takes serious exception to the behaviour of the Zimbabwe police in arresting and questioning the Secretary General of the Zimbabwe Congress of Trade Unions (ZCTU), Wellington Chibebe. We note with utter dismay this unbecoming conduct by the security forces and believe that the police are attempting to intimidate the Secretary General.
Press statement issued by the Congress of South African Trade Unions.
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We therefore call on
government to deal decisively with the police who committed
this act. Failure to do so can only suggest that the police were
acting on the instructions of the government and therefore cast
doubt on their impartiality.
We believe that the questions that the police raised with the
Secretary General of the ZCTU were irrelevant to their work.
1. The role and functions of the ZCTU are not for the police
to ask about, because they are defined by the constitution of
the ZCTU.
2. As to who organises the strikes and how labour forums are
convened, we believe that it is outside the police competence
to ask that. However, it is public knowledge that ZCTU
leadership and all its constitutional structures are the legitimate
structures that may or not call a strike. As such we believe the
police are out of order, for they know that the strike was
called by ZCTU and that its members participated.
3. On the composition of the general council, we believe that
the General Council of the ZCTU is constituted by the
constitution and therefore anyone interested in knowing this
information, including the police, should read the constitution
and not detain the Secretary General. Our view is that the
Secretary General is not the constitution but a custodian of the
constitution.
4. The political affiliation of ZCTU is not secret; ZCTU is not
a political organisation but a trade union and therefore
represent workers of Zimbabwe without any regard to their
political affiliation. As a result, it is common sense that
members of ZCTU would come from different political
persuasions, as such the membership of the ZCTU cannot be
definitive or static. But the ZCTU is an independent trade
union body whose primary accountability lies with the workers
and not any political party.
Patrick Craven and Moloto Mothapo
Acting COSATU Spokespersons
[email protected]
082-821-7456
339-4911
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Contact 082-821-7456 Patrick Craven or Moloto Mothapo for further comment.
Visit the COSATU web site at http://www.cosatu.org.za/press/latest.html for copies of our most recent press statements. For the full archive go to: http://www.cosatu.org.za/press/archive.html.
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