Trade unions not serving their mandate and no longer a force to reckon with: The Zimbabwe experience

Trade unions in Zimbabwe became very popular in the late 90s and after the turn of the new millennium, as they forced employers to accede to most of their demands for the improved well-being of their constituency. One of the most powerfullabour body to emergeafter independence, the Zimbabwe Congress of Trade Unions (ZCTU)organiseda number of labour unrest incidencescountrywide as manifested by massivestrikes and stayaways which caused serious economic business losses. It later formed a formidable political party in 1999 which almost won the general elections of 2000, just a year after its formation. However the impact of trade unions over the past decade has been less convincing with hundreds ofthousands of workers having been retrenched. This qualitative study used unstructured interviews to probe the major labour bodies representing workers in the private sector, government officials, civil servants representatives, labour experts and some workers across several sectors. Trade unions impact was being adversely affected by the underperforming economy which had caused lots of company closures and retrenchments. Political interests to join mainstream government, repressive laws to quell industrial action, in-house fighting, abuse of members’ affiliation fees and hostility between the three social partners, have contributed to the weakening of the once vibrant unions. The study recommends the rescinding of repressive laws and incorporating the provisions of the International Labour Organization (ILO) conventions that enhance the freedom of expression and rights of workers since Zimbabwe is abonafide member.