Economic, Social and Cultural Rights Including Worker Rights: Working conditions, Freedom of Association and the Right to Collective Bargaining and living and working conditions Summary The new constitution includes economic, social and cultural rights, and specifically for water rights. The state continued to suppress workers’ rights especially the right to picket and organise. Working and living conditions deteriorated substantially. Government continued to pursue economic policies based on exclusion of other social groups and that threatened direct foreign investment thereby undermining means of livelihoods. Access to water and sanitation remained poor. At the close of the year, the economy was nearing collapse, leading the country into further poverty. In detail 6a. Workers civil liberties State suppression of rights Overzealous members of the Zimbabwe Republic Police (ZRP) continued to act with impunity by interfering with legitimate trade union activities in cases where they are not legally mandated to intervene. To prove their unrepentant nature, some members of the police continued to deny workers and other citizens the right to exercise their constitutionally guaranteed and recognised fundamental rights and freedoms of association and assembly. On 24 April 2013 the police unilaterally prohibited the Zimbabwe Congress of Trade Unions (ZCTU) from staging a procession scheduled for Wednesday 1 May 2013 in commemoration of Workers’ Day. The ZRP sought to “ban” the ZCTU procession and ordered the labour unionists to confine themselves to just gathering at Mucheke Stadium after indicating that the ZRP could not sanction the procession due to unspecified “security reasons”. It was only after legal intervention that the procession will be allowed to proceed. The inclusive government did not implement labour law reforms and the recommendations of the International Labour Organisation’s Commission of Enquiry Report on violations of trade union rights, and reduce the high levels of income tax that are a millstone on beleaguered workers of Zimbabwe. On September 12, 2013 during the Congressional Hearing: Troubling path ahead for U.S.Zimbabwe relations, Imani Countess Africa Region Program Director, Solidarity Center (AFLCIO)
Before the House Committee on Foreign Affairs, Subcommittee on Africa, Global Health, Global Human Rights and International Organizations, gave a testimony which summarized the state of Labour in Zimbabwe. The testimony can be accessed here: http://docs.house.gov/meetings/FA/ FA16/20130912/101286/HHRG-113-FA16-Wstate-CountessI-20130912.pdf 64