LABOR PLANS ANOTHER DEMONSTRATION

C O N F I D E N T I A L HARARE 002246 SIPDIS NSC FOR JFRAZER E.O. 12958: DECL: 11/13/2013 TAGS: ECON ELAB PGOV ZI SUBJECT: LABOR PLANS ANOTHER DEMONSTRATION REF: HARARE 2045 Classified By: LABOFF KRBEL FOR REASONS 1.5 B & D ¶1. (U) Summary: The Zimbabwe Congress of Trade Unions (ZCTU),disillusioned with stayaways which bring no change, have instead begun to focus on a series of public demonstrations to focus attention on their plight (ref). ZCTU Secretary-General Wellington Chibebe has published calls for another National Protest on Tuesday, November 18, ahead of the upcoming GOZ budget announcement. End summary. ¶2. (U) The text of the announcement, circulated via e-mail, reads: "Dear Colleagues, The Zimbabwe Congress of Trade Unions (ZCTU) would like to inform you that due to the deteriorating economic and political situation in Zimbabwe and government's lethargic approach to solving the crisis, it will be carrying out a National Protest countrywide on TUESDAY 18 NOVEMBER 2003 AT 12:30 pm. The Protest is on; High level of Taxation, Ever rising prices and the cost of living, and the Violation of Human and Trade Union Rights. The protest precedes the Natioanl (sic) Budget announcement on 20 November 2003. The ZCTU therefore calls for support and solidarity from all cooperating partners so that together we can ultimately push government to act on the crisis in Zimbabwe. Wellington Chibebe, Secretary General." -------------- CONTINGENCY PLANNING FOR TARGETED LEADERS -------------- ¶3. (C) Conversations with Chibebe indicate that the ZCTU's top leadership clearly expects to be arrested in advance of the protest. The ZCTU has advised the police that they intend to hold the demonstration, and the police have already refused the ZCTU "permission" to protest. However, the ZCTU also holds that it is not required to obtain permission and insists that the protest will go on as scheduled. Chibebe states that the ZCTU has developed a network of "shadow" leaders, none of whom know each other's identity, who will ensure that the demonstration will go forward even in the absence of the elected leadership. -------------- PUBLIC SCRUTINY PROTECTS DETAINEES -------------- ¶4. (C) Chibebe also reports that the international attention paid to labor issues in Zimbabwe has proved immensely important in preventing widespread abuse of labor leaders even when they are arrested arbitrarily. Immediate responses from international labor organizations such as COSATU, ICFTU, and the ILO, along with condemnation from governments and other international observers, apparently led to GOZ restraint during last month's protests. Out of two hundred labor detainees, "only four" reported being beaten and abused -- two in Bulawayo were severely beaten, driven into the bush, and left for dead. One of these victims, Samuel Khumalo, insists that he will be in the vanguard of the next demonstration, unless he is preemptively arrested. By contrast, of the Harare detainees, not one was physically abused. According to Chibebe, the Harare contingent were told by their police captors, We are under orders not to touch you... -------------- COMMENT -------------- ¶5. (C) Chibebe asks for continued international attention during the upcoming protest, which could easily result in ZANU-PF-led violence despite the ZCTU's best efforts to hold a peaceful demonstration. Labor is deliberately increasing pressure on the GOZ by engaging in public protests, after stepping back from their previous strategy of calling for mass stayaways. While labor could return to stayaways in the future, they now believe that continued work stoppages that result in no change hurt only the workers. The new strategy of holding demonstrations against specific issues could well prove more effective. If the GOZ subsequently reduces the tax burden for workers, the ZCTU can claim a tangible victory. If not, the anticipated mass arrests of labor leaders increases the perception of GOZ anti-labor (and anti-worker) animus. Labor leaders appear ready to risk their personal safety to move worker concerns back into the spotlight. Whitehead