17 August 2015
by Blessing Vava
The Supreme Court in Zimbabwe
in July this year ruled that employers have a right to terminate employment
contracts by giving the requisite notice of intention to terminate employment.
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| Zimbabwe's judiciary system compromised |
So far, Zimbabwe has recorded
massive job losses with reports from labour unions estimating close to 20 000
workers fired from both private companies and a bigger number from parastatals.
Shifting
blame
This has been happening in the
wake of propaganda by the ZANU PF government, which strangely shifts the blame
for the job losses to the country’s labour laws; particularly a ruling that has
thrown the Zimbabwe’s workers in the streets.
This position is untenable.
The ruling party is now
seeking to amend the country’s labour laws in a bid to ‘end’ these firings.
What hypocrisy?
Colonial
legislation
Quite telling though, is the hypocrisy shown by the ruling party. They blame the ruling on the flimsy pretext that it is a result of the colonial legislation that Zimbabwe adopted and never changed since the country gained its independence.
Shockingly, ZANU PF has
exhibited serious levels of hypocrisy, acting as if they are concerned about
the firing of workers, whereas the government- itself the biggest employer- has
already started sending its employees home.
Parastatals
are firing workers
To date, most parastatals including the Zimbabwe Broadcasting Corporation, Grain Marketing Board, ZIMPAPERS and the National Railways of Zimbabwe, have dismissed thousands of employees. The figures are set to rise as more employers take advantage of the relaxed labour regime.
The Supreme Court ruling has
in a way confirmed the true colours of our government, which is now in an
overdrive capitalist cycle. And Zimbabweans should brace for more tough times
ahead as we have embraced another ESAP, albeit one,with more devastating
effects than its World bank imposed predecessor.
In 1991, the state embraced
the Economic and Structural Adjustment Program (ESAP), which advocated for
tighter fiscal policy, reduction of public expenditure through faster
privatization of parastatals, and civil service downsizing. This program left a
majority of Zimbabweans jobless.
Policy
inadequacy
The collapse of Zimbabwe’s
economy originated from 'market fundamentalism', but the recent crisis has been
due to a total collapse of the nationalist interventionist paradigm, itself a
creature of the Third Chimurenga (the chaotic land reform) and ZIMASSET
policies.
As if our government has not
learned from history, they are still embracing free market, neo-liberal models
that have failed in the past. We should not forget that the Minister of
Finance, Mr Patrick Chinamasa, said government plans to cut the public sector
wage bill to 40 percent of total revenue from the current 80 percent.
Planned
Therefore, the Supreme Court
ruling is not surprising: it had been planned already. And it is clear that the Harare is succumbing to pressure from institutions like the IMF and World Bank, and of course
the East, which are prescribing these austerity measures as pre-conditions for
a financial bailout.
It is shocking why the international community
is quiet while all this is happening in Zimbabwe. Their only loud cries were
when Cecil the Lion was killed. It boggles the mind.
It is obvious that ZANU PF is
behind the Supreme Court ruling (never mind the interpretation of the law).
They have a two thirds parliamentary majority, which enables them to change the
laws.
Compromised
judiciary
If they were truly against the
ruling as they have been saying, the ruling would have been delayed, thus
paving way for the proposed labour reforms they are making noise about.
I say so because the Judiciary
itself is compromised. The Chief Justice, Godfrey Chidyausiku, is a former ZANU
PF MP, and all the other Judges are appointed by the President. That’s where
their allegiance lies, and not vice versa.
In the past, ZANU PF has used
the judiciary to settle political scores, and no serious ruling is made without
Mugabe’s approval. In Zimbabwe there is no rule of law, it is taboo to pass a
judgement that is not preferred by the president. It can never happen.
Evidently, this hullabaloo
about changing the labour laws is all hogwash, because the damage has already
been done. And by the time the law is passed, only Mugabe and his cronies would
still be employed by the state.
Political
expediency
Thus, in the case of Zimbabwe,
institutions like the judiciary are being used to sustain the capitalist
economy. And the state is also clearly serving the interests of capital.
As the government is
complaining about over-expenditure, their levels of spending on the military
are quite alarming, gobbling about $379 million allocated by Chinamasa during
the budget presentation.
With the ongoing
retrenchments, it is obvious that, despite the bloated manpower in our security
forces, no single soldier or police man will be retrenched. They would rather
keep them for political expediency as the anger towards the government is
growing by the day.
This article is an edited version, the original version is on Waza
Blessing Vava is a blogger who
writes from Chipinge in Zimbabwe. He can be contacted on blessingvava@gmail.com
