were applied against striking workers who, if found guilty, could receive a penal sentence and be prevented from holding union office for seven years. 29 88. An ad hoc working group of experts of the Commission of Human Rights reported to the ECOSOC in 1973 on allegations of infringements of trade union rights in Southern Rhodesia. The working group concluded that “the vast majority of African workers cannot belong to any trade union”; that deregistration of trade unions had increased; and that the right to strike was “virtually non-existent in view of the political and legal constraints”. 30 The ILO had provided expert evidence to this working group and subsequently produced its own report in 1978 which also canvassed freedom of association. 31 89. Although unions were prohibited from restricting membership on the basis of race, they remained racially distinct due to their divide along skills lines: “the concept of a single worker movement is inapplicable in the Rhodesian context, and any study of industrial relations has to recognize that this movement is fragmented, its objectives multi-directional and its tactics variable”. 32 Policies continued to maintain the preferential position of white workers compared to black workers and it was difficult for black unions to become established. The fight for trade union rights “was transformed into the fight for majority political rights, a fight against colonialism and the UDI”. 33 II. Independence: Zimbabwe since 1980 34 90. A constitutional agreement was signed on 21 December 1979 (the Lancaster House Agreement), by which the war of independence was ended and Zimbabwe became an independent country. The Constitution of the new country in 1979 guaranteed freedom of association and the right to form and belong to trade unions. Full majority elections held in 1980 were won by the ZANU party. Robert Mugabe, who became Prime Minister and, in 1987 President of Zimbabwe, emphasized the need for reconciliation in the country. The guerrilla war that developed between the ZANU and ZAPU armies ended by their merger in 1988 to create the ZANU–PF, which dominated Zimbabwean politics in the following years. 91. Land was a burning issue in the colonial period. Under the Lancaster House Agreement, land could only be acquired if the owners wished to sell, and so there was limited land for resettlement. Other problems arose that limited the pace at which the Government was able to acquire land for resettlement. 29 Brittain, J. and Raftopolous, B., 1997, “The labour movement in Zimbabwe 1965–1980”, in B. Raftopoulos and I. Phimister, op. cit., pp. 91–106, p. 91. 30 ECOSOC. Report of the Ad Hoc Working Group of Experts of the Commission on Human Rights prepared in accordance with Council resolution 1599 (L), 54th Session, 23 Feb. 1973, p. 55. 31 ILO, 1978, Labour conditions and discrimination in southern Rhodesia (Zimbabwe), (Geneva). 32 Harris. op. cit., p. 68. 33 Dansereau, S., 1997, “Rebirth of resistance: Labour and structural adjustment in Zimbabwe”, in Labour, Capital and Society, 30:1, pp. 90–122, p. 93. 34 See generally Schiphorst, F., 2001, “Strength and weakness: The rise of the Zimbabwe Congress of Trade Unions (ZCTU) and the development of labour relations 1980–1995” (doctoral thesis, Leiden University). 34 Meetings-2009-Zimbabwe C of I-2009-12-0035-3-En.doc/v3