Editoral Comment

The Supreme court ruling in the last 2 weeks has attracted a lot of condemnation from workers around the country after thousands of workers lost their jobs.

Investors and economic analysts have pointed out that labour costs in Zimbabwe are too high particularly the costs of dismissing employees if the investor wishes to move on for one reason or the other.

For this reason this judgement has been hailed by others who see it as a necessary ingredient in attracting investment in the country.

But this pro- capital judgement confirms the death of unionism in Zimbabwe. The power has shifted from the workers to capital and the government. Gone are the days where such a decision could have caused chaos in the country and spelt doom for the ruling party in the impending elections.

Such a ruling would not have seen the light of day under the watch of the militant Congress of South Africa Trade Unions (COSATU). South Africa could have come to a complete stand still. This can happen in Zimbabwe because the labour unions have been demobilised and lost their agency.

One needs to observe the number of workers that have attended Workers’ Day celebrations over the last few years to understand the declining influence of workers. Companies are closing on a daily basis and workers are becoming ‘extinct’.Workers no longer wield any economic, social or political power to bargain with the government.

Secondly this judgement shows that the ruling party is pursuing a capitalist agenda. The interests of capital and investors now dwarf
those of workers.The government is more interested in promoting and advancing the interests of investors.

One has to forgive the ruling party and understand that in order to create 2,2 million jobs they promised to the electorate they must implement ‘capital friendly’ policies and this may mean stepping on the toes of workers.

However if the labour laws are indeed unfriendly to investors, they are not the only sticking point. Zimbabwe ranks high as one of the
most corrupt countries and uncertainty over laws such as the Indigenisation Act scare off investors. If government was sincere about making the country more friendly to capital, they would start by tackling these issues.

Although government has shed some crocodile tears about this judgement, workers must realise that this government is likely to side
with capital in order to extracticate itself from the economic mess it finds itself in.

Whether weakening the labour movement will result in Zimbabwe becoming an attractive investment destination remains to be seen.

Meanwhile the workers either have to take it lying down or mobilise themselves to fight this judgement