13 Jan 2022
13 January 2022
ZCTU PRESS RELEASE
The Zimbabwe Congress of Trade Unions (ZCTU) has learnt with utter shock and misbelief of the brutal arrest members of the Amalgamated Rural Teachers Union of Zimbabwe (ARTUZ) on 11 January 2022 for taking part in a peaceful demonstration demanding improvement in their salaries.
The ZCTU understands that the Zimbabwe Republic Police disrupted the protest and started beating all protestor and some were injured in the process.
The right to peaceful demonstration is enshrined in our Constitution, the Labour Act and it is one of the International Labour Organization (ILO) core Conventions. Protests are at the very heart of all labour movements the world over to push for social justice at the workplace.
We therefore condemn any police brutality against trade unions and call upon the authorities to let unions do their work. We demand the unconditional release of all those who have been arrested.
The ZCTU believes this is an attack on workers Constitutional right to demonstrate and petition. This is an attempt to silence and scare workers to partake in any future demonstrations.
Japhet Moyo
Secretary General
