By Jasper Hloka

Zimbabwe Congress of Trade Unions (ZCTU) bemoaned the payment of cushion allowance by Government, saying the move had deflated momentum and dampened the appetite for civil servants to participate in the protests against Government, the Harare Post can report.

ZCTU aimed to have SI142/2019 repealed so that Government pays its workers in US dollars, but that was never to be; forcing the Union through its General Council meeting held on 20 July 2019 to abandon plans of taking to the streets.

In the meeting, ZCTU General Secretary, Japhet Moyo, remarked that the cushion allowance had worked against their plans by dampening the appetite for Government workers to participate in protests. Moyo indicated that “I foresee a situation where the Declarations of Incapacity by various organizations’ workers are to suffer still births as a result of the payment of cushion allowances. I therefore propose that we shelve the shutdown motion.”

Moyo’s submission got the buy-in from the council prompting ZCTU President, Peter Mutasa, revealing that he had received letters of advice from affiliate organizations such as Employers’ Confederation of Zimbabwe (EMCOZ), Progressive Teachers Union of Zimbabwe (PTUZ) and other Civic Society Organizations advocating that Minister of Public Service, Labour and Social Welfare, Dr Sekai Nzenza, be given a chance to respond to their demand to have SI142/2019 repealed. 

Generally the appetite for demonstrations is fizzling out owing to significant efforts by Government to better the livelihood of its citizenry. Last week, the ZCTU had a staff meeting in which its employees made it clear that demonstrations against Government over price increases would not work suggesting that the protests would rather be directed towards the business community which is hiking the prices.