By Own Correspondent| The Country’s largest labour representative organisation, the Zimbabwe Congress of Trade Unions (ZCTU) has warned of a crippling nationwide shutdown in January next year in order to push government to implement economic reforms.

In an interview with a local publication, ZCTU president Peter Mutasa said workers are facing a bleak future with more companies expected to fold in 2019.

Said Mutasa:

“The country is coming to a total shutdown. We are not pessimistic, but we saw this in 2008 and all the signs are heading towards a second 2008. Unfortunately, in this period, we don’t think that we have leadership. The State is not well coordinated, so we are facing a very serious crisis.

We think citizens are going to rise to the occasion. For the workers, the ZCTU has given its leadership a mandate that we must coordinate all workers and unions, even those that are not within our federations.

We want to unite all unions; unite the poor, the farmers, the students — all the progressive forces and wage
a struggle to force the government to the negotiating table.

This January, workers should just down tools. We should just stop working until there are economic reforms. You have seen what has happened with the doctors; we are going to see teachers doing the same, civil servants — we will be calling on all workers to stop working and demand economic reforms. So it’s going to be a very sensitive January.”-Newsday