(MISA/IFEX) – On 27 November 1998, Zimbabwean President Robert Mugabe invoked his powerful presidential powers to amend the country’s Labour Relations Act and ban industrial action similar to that witnessed in Zimbabwe since early November. **Updates IFEX alerts as noted in text** Mugabe’s decree bans “the inciting of, or taking part in, collective industrial action […]
(MISA/IFEX) – On 27 November 1998, Zimbabwean President Robert Mugabe
invoked his powerful presidential powers to amend the country’s Labour
Relations Act and ban
industrial action similar to that witnessed in Zimbabwe since early
November.
**Updates IFEX alerts as noted in text**
Mugabe’s decree bans “the inciting of, or taking part in, collective
industrial action meant to put pressure on the government to change laws.”
The decree also allows for any labour organisation’s registration to be
suspended if it is found to have recommended, encouraged or incited people
to engage in “unlawful collective action,” while employers who encourage
staff to join illegal action can be convicted and fined up to US$2 500,
or jailed for up to three years, or both. Employers have also been given the go
ahead to fire any workers who take part in unlawful collective action
without ministerial approval.
Mugabe’s decree came after two successful stayaways organised earlier in the
month by the Zimbabwe Congress of Trade Unions (ZCTU). The ZCTU is demanding
a 20 percent salary increase for all workers and an immediate suspension of
a 67 percent fuel hike recently imposed by the government.
The ZCTU has indicated that they may appeal the matter to the Supreme Court
on the basis of the constitution. The union’s secretary-general, Morgan
Tsvangirai, has described Mugabe’s move as desperate, and told the PANA news
agency that it would not solve problems faced by workers.
The Zimbabwe Human Rights Association, ZimRights, has also condemned the
ban. ”We categorically say no to a mass action ban,” David Chimhini,
executive director of ZimRights, told the IPS news agency. ”The
constitutionality of the Presidential Powers (Temporary Measures) Act was,
and is still, questionable from the day of gazetting,” said Chimhini.
Local lawyers approached for comment by the IPS news agency also reacted
angrily to the ban. ”It is unconstitutional. It infringes on the right of
expression and association and I don’t think it will survive in court,”
said Lovemore Maduku.
The Zimbabwe National Students Union (ZINASU), described the decree as both
unconstitutional and undemocratic. ZINASU secretary-general, Chalton
Hwendea, told the PANA news agency that members of ZINASU would not be bound
by the legislation. He said the law put Zimbabwe under a state of emergency,
adding that authorities would be humiliated when citizens resisted the
statute.
In another development, the Zimbabwean chapter of MISA, MISA-Zimbabwe,
reports that the controversial Public Order and Security Bill (POSB) has
been approved by Parliament and is awaiting the President’s signature. The
bill aims to regulate public gatherings and demonstrations. Civic bodies
through the National Constitutional Assembly (NCA) have submitted signatures
of thousands of ordinary people opposed to the bill. The petition has been
forwarded to President Mugabe asking him not to sign the
bill into law yet.
In his presentation to Parliament before the bill was approved, Home Affairs
Minister Dumiso Dabengwa maintained that he had consulted civil society on
the bill and that civil society had given its blessing to this bill. His
statement has incensed civic groups who have petitioned Parliament several
times on this issue.
ZimRights is “totally against the bill”, and has described it as a “negative
piece of legislation”. The organisation is particularly opposed to Clause 11
of the bill, which limits free expression, and Clauses 14 and 15, which give
too much power to the authorities to restrict or prohibit public gatherings.
The National Constitutional Assembly has also denounced the bill and
believes that it has great “potential for repressive action” and is “severe
as it goes further to widely curtail freedom of movement, freedom of
association and freedom of expression as entrenched in the present
Constitution.” MISA-Zimbabwe and interested civic groups await to see what
action government will take in view of the renewed protest.
Background Information
Since independence in 1980, the government has promised to repeal the Law
and Order (Maintenance) Act of 1960, which infringed on several personal
freedoms. Towards the end of last year, the government introduced the Public
Order and Security Bill, which in the preamble, referred to the 1960 law as
“draconian”. However, the bill came under strong criticism from various
human rights organisations in Zimbabwe, who found it heavily flawed in terms
of human rights protection (see IFEX alert of 13 November 1997). As a result
of the strong criticism, the government withdrew the bill from Parliament
(see IFEX alert of 20 February 1998), with the aim of amending it and
tabling it again.
Earlier this year, civil society organisations rejected the second draft of
the bill on the grounds that it still posed a significant threat to several
fundamental freedoms, including freedom of expression, speech and
association (See IFEX alert of 18 June 1998).
