Statement From MDC-T President Dr T. Khupe Marking International Workers Day May 1, 2018.|Fellow Compatriots, workers and progressive forces; I extend fraternal greetings as we mark International Labour Day on May 1, 2018. On behalf of our party, the Movement of Democratic Change, itself a salutary
product of workers’ struggle.
I salute all the workers as we commemorate this important Day where we honour the blood, sweat and tears of the working people throughout history.
In the Zimbabwean context, our movement the MDC-T remains one of the indelible marks that remind us all of
the aspirations of the Zimbabwean people for a better and just society. As a genuine people’s project, our
movement was borne out of the labour struggles as led by the Zimbabwe
Congress of Trade Unions and some of iconic leaders of our glorious movement.
This Day, therefore, remains a crucial reminder to those of us bequeathed with the duty and mission to carry on the people’s struggle for
justice. It is a constant reminder to where we come from, where we are and where we are going. It gives us that
unique opportunity to re-energize the struggle as we reconnect with the workers as the true owners of this
project.
We mark 2018 May Day without one of our iconic trade unionist and formidable leader, Morgan Tsvangirai.
Once more, we take this opportunity to lower our flags in honour of the passing on of this gallant son of workers’
struggle. Indeed, the most befitting honour we can give him is to further the workers’ project until Zimbabwe
attains true democracy and constitutionalism.
Comrades, the recent hard handedness by the Zimbabwe government in response to a legitimate and justifiable industrial action by our nurses is a harbinger for worst things to happen against workers in our
country.
In spite of the propaganda we are continually fed with, of a change by the Zimbabwean authorities. It is now clear for all to see how fallacious the claims were.
The leopard never changes its spots.
Throughout the
painful struggles in Zimbabwe, dating from colonial to post independence period, the workers and peasants have suffered abuse and injustice. The MDC-T emerged as the political voice for the suffering masses of Zimbabwe
precisely to end the abuse and crush the unjust laws and practices that keep the majority in servitude.
It is unfortunate that we mark this Workers Day at a time when the labour movement is at its weakest in Zimbabwe. Weak not because it is poorly organized or badly led. Far from it! It has been bled dry by massive deindustrialization and consequently rampant joblessness.
With such unprecedented high levels of unemployment it is inconceivable how our organized labour could survive without workers contributions.
Workers still organise under very draconian laws like AIPPA, POSA, and other repressive laws. Workers still live
under fear of the State which has largely been hostile to labour. Trade unions are finding it extremely difficult
to organise workers in the informal sector as Zimbabwean economy has become mainly informal. It is indeed a
challenge to unionise casual workers and many in precarious employment.
Workers in Zimbabwe continue to suffer extremes of poverty while others are exiled in neighbouring coutries
separated from family and loved ones and subjected to demeaning employment and at times xenophobia of the
worst kind. Those in rural areas and farms are the worst affected.
Above all, women workers suffer double
discrimination, first as workers and then as women. Women and girls suffer more as economic decline worsens. Women as mothers and workers suffer comparatively more than their male counterparts when social services collapse as is the case in Zimbabwe.
We therefore face both class and gender discrimination. Domestic violence and rape cases remain high further oppressing women who anyway remain vulnerable to sexual
harassment at work places.
Our recent successful extra ordinary congress has successfully demostrated our intent to aggressively confront these ills by being the only national politically party with a fifty pecent gender parity and and women holding substantive positions of leadership.
We commemorate this Workers’ Day fully cognisant of the deprivation and dispossession suffered by workers in Zimbabwe due to poor government policies and grand political corruption.
Workers are the ones who have paid a huge price for the corruption in government, State enterprises and private companies. Fighting corruption remains top on the struggle by the working people in our country.
Our precious minerals
were looted and carted to foreign capitals in Europe, Asia and North America leaving our environment desolate
and degraded. Our raw materials are exported without value addition and hence exporting work opportunities
too.
Workers have suffered from nepotism, regionalism, sexism and tribalism in this country.
Our genuine
struggle against capitalist exploitation has been hampered by the divisive tendencies of these vices that our
government leaders have been complicit in.
We therefore call upon the struggling people of Zimbabwe, the true owners of the MDC-T, to use this Workers Day as reflection and make a resolution for stopping this rot come 2018 elections. As labour leaders, we
acknowledged our dual role for improving work place conditions like better wages and also the broader social
justice issues like good governance, constitutionalism and democracy.
These are the ideals we strive to adhere to as Social Democrats and true pan-Africanists. Ours is a just struggle. The workers shall overcome.
Thank you all.