4.5.4 Violations of property rights Illegal expropriation of private property. Policy Private property is protected by local legislation. The law was amended in 2000 to allow the state to compulsorily acquire land. The Land Acquisition Act of 2000 provided for the state takeover of farms. Nature of violations Farm invasions continued on 12 February, a day after the swearing-in of Prime Minister Morgan Tsvangirai. According to the General Agricultural and Plantation Workers Union of Zimbabwe (GAPWUZ), as of March, 700 families had been displaced, losing their immovable properties as a result.* The Commercial Farmers’ Union (CFU) reported that, by August, about 80 more farmers had been forcibly evicted from their farms losing personal property in the process. GAPWUZ reported that over 60,000 farm-workers had been made homeless since February. Case histories In a continuation of the farm invasions that began in 2000, • Edna Madzongwe, President of the Senate, invaded a farm owned by Mr Richard Etheredge, taking over the farm and personal property. • Mr Michael Campbell’s Chegutu farm, Mount Carmel, was appropriated together with all immovable property. The government did not recognize the SADC Tribunal that ruled in favour of Mr Campbell and other farmers who had won the right to remain on their land. 4.5.5 Violations of labour rights Violation of worker rights and entitlements as provided for in local and international regulations. Policy Local laws dealing with labour issues include the Public Services Act and the Labour Relations Act. The Public Health Act, Medical Services Act, and the Medical Dental and Allied Professions Act contain labour regulations that apply only to public health service personnel. The government has ratified some ILO conventions, and these laws generally attempt to comply with international regulations and conventions regarding workers’ rights. Nature of violations The state-affiliated trade union, the Zimbabwe Federation of Trade Unions (ZFTU), received favourable treatment from the government to the detriment of the more established and workeroriented ZCTU, whose members continued to be stripped of their right to express themselves. *  Fresh invasions displace 700 families’, The Daily Catalyst [Crisis in Zimbabwe Coalition], 5 March 2009, <http:// www.internal-displacement.org/8025708F004CE90B/(httpDocuments)/E5B1FBAF01F36D3FC125757100646C47/$f ile/Crisis+Coalition.pdf>. Zimbabwe Human Rights Report – 2009 25