Zimbabwe
South African workers refuse to move arms bound for Zimbabwe
South African Transport Union members have announced they will not offload Chinese arms that are being shipped to crisis-torn Zimbabwe.
A boat carrying an arms shipment destined for Zimbabwe is anchored at the South African port of Durban. However the South African Transport Workers' Union has already announced that their members will not offload any of the cargo, nor will any of their truckers transport it.
Strikes spread across Zimbabwe
Teachers, nurses, doctors and civil servants have been taking industrial action since last Wednesday calling for an immediate review of salaries and benefits.
In the capital Harare, the strike has been compounded by the ongoing strike by council workers who downed tools last Wednesday, demanding a rise in their salaries.
Zimbabwe: Wildcat strikes and unrest escalates
We have received reports that wildcat strikes are spreading across Zimbabwe as workers demand pay which will match massive inflation.
Eddie Cross reported on Zimbabwe's Nehanda Radio on Friday 18 May:
Zimbabwean unions call-off mayday celebrations after death threats
The Zimbabwe Congress of Trade Unions (ZCTU) says it was forced to cancel May Day celebrations in four provinces after militant supporters of President Robert Mugabe’s ruling ZANU PF party allegedly threatened to murder union officials if the celebrations went ahead.
ZimOnline reported: Relations between Mugabe and the ZCTU are hostile with the workers’ federation blaming wrong government polices for plunging the economy and workers into misery.
In turn, Mugabe accuses the ZCTU of conspiring with his Western enemies and of using genuine worker grievances as pretext to instigate Zimbabweans to revolt and overthrow his government.
Zimbabwean government to crush any union-led protests
The Zimbabwe government on Sunday said trade union leaders calling for a national work boycott in April are itching “to start a war” in the country and vowed to sternly deal with them.
The Zimbabwe Congress of Trade Unions (ZCTU), the largest umbrella union for workers in the country, at the weekend said it was mobilising workers for a two-day nationwide job boycott in the first week of April over the country’s fast deteriorating economic crisis and worsening conditions for workers.
Wildcat strikes hit Zimbabwe
Wildcat strikes for better pay that have hit Zimbabwe could trigger wider work boycotts and spontaneous street protests, escalating political tensions in the crisis-hit country, analysts said on Monday.
Opposition attempts to organise peaceful demonstrations against President Robert Mugabe's government -- largely blamed for a deep economic crisis -- have failed so far, leaving analysts asking if Zimbabweans are afraid to face their leaders.
Zimbabwean CTU calls for national strike
Zimbabwe's largest trade union has called for a national strike to protest a sharp hike in fuel prices last week.
Unions say the hike has made it too expensive for most workers to travel to their jobs in the troubled southern African country. The Zimbabwe Congress of Trade Unions, ZCTU, an umbrella grouping of trade organisations, is closely affiliated with the main opposition party.
Armed police raid Zimbabwe trade union offices
On Wednesday 11th January 2006 armed police raided the offices of the Zimbabwe Congress of Trade Unions (ZCTU) seizing documents as the government steps up a crackdown against civic society.
The raid came as government begun investigations into the umbrella labour body's operations, a probe that observers say could lead to the deregistration of the labour body.
