[Zimbabwe] union to march against poverty

from The Mail and Guardian

Tiisetso Motsoeneng | Johannesburg, South Africa

Zimbabwe's biggest labour movement, the Zimbabwe Congress of Trade Unions (Zactu), will be organising countrywide processions on September 13 to demand an end to poverty.

"Eighty percent of Zimbabweans are living in poverty because workers' 'take home' salaries cannot even take them home," the union said in a statement late on Tuesday.

Zactu demands that minimum wages and salaries be linked to the Poverty Datum Line (PDL) and that income tax be reduced to a 30% maximum. Other demands included tax exemption for workers earning below the PDL and stabilisation of prices of basic commodities.

This comes amid concerted efforts by Zimbabwean monetary authorities to weed out indiscipline in an economy battered by a high inflation rate and poverty.

The Zactu leadership also demands that police stop harassing workers in the informal economy, as well as free access to antiretrovirals.

A petition will be delivered to the minister of public service, labour and social welfare, the minister of finance and the Employers' Confederation of Zimbabwe in Harare, while in other centres the petitions will be delivered to the offices of the chief labour relations officer.

The march on September 13 will take place between 12pm and 2pm local time.