UZA joins the rest of Zimbabwe in commemorating International Workers’ Day. Zimbabwe is what it is today because of the hard work and resilience of the workers who make our nation a better place.
On this special day, UZA salutes all workers in the health, manufacturing, mining and agricultural sectors and those in the informal economy and other sectors who continue to meaningfully contribute to our economy under very challenging conditions.
To the millions of vendors especially women toiling to make an honest living on the pavements of Zimbabwe, hearty salutations to you for weathering the storm.
To the farm labourers, peasant farmers, artisanal miners and entrepreneurs working hard to feed your families, UZA appreciates and reveres your heroic contribution to our beautiful nation.
Our countrymen and women in the diaspora toiling day and night 24/7 to send a dime to your families back home; this is your day!
UZA is alive to the daily grind that each Zimbabwean worker goes through to balance incomes and daily realities economically, socially and politically. The daily lives of our workers today is a sad story reflective of a failed administration. The covid-19 pandemic has not made it any easier. It has worsened your plight but you have soldiered on and still continue to deliver despite the challenges.
The high unemployment rate has seen the mass exodus of both skilled and unskilled workers depriving our great nation of the human resource capital we need to drive the development trajectory. Zimbabweans have been forced to seek economic refugee in foreign lands. Some in neighbouring South Africa endure xenophobic attacks which have left them haunted and psychologically traumatised.
The few remaining skilled workers have been turned destitute earning salaries that are barely adequate to provide a descent standard of living. Our teachers, doctors, nurses, civil servants and a host of other workers in the various sectors are now living way below the poverty datum line as their income has been rendered worthless by the current economic environment.
It is important that on this day, we reflect and address the reasons why 42 years after our hard-won Independence, the Zimbabwean workforce is still suppressed while the ruling class and elites hide behind a finger, blaming everyone else but themselves for the economic downturn. UZA is therefore calling on the current government to be sincere in resolving the plight of Zimbabwean workers. Job creation is government’s responsibility. It is the duty of a responsible government to analyze and address the reasons why companies have shut down and why, as a result, Zimbabwe has lost thousands of jobs. Policies should support and promote decent work for all under healthy and safe conditions.
Poverty Datum Line minimum living wages must be offered to workers including those in the civil service. The current inflationary environment has rendered workers’ salaries useless leaving millions without hungry and at the risk of devastating economic deprivation.
On this Workers’ Day, UZA pledges to implement policies that prioritise the plight and wellbeing of workers. We are committed to championing engagement of all people of Zimbabwe for the protection and realisation of national unity, dignity, posterity, and justice.
The betterment of the lives of Zimbabweans through the safeguarding of a democratic, free and transparent society that is conducive to the prosperity of all citizens is our priority.
Happy Worker'sDay Zimbabwe!
