Country Context Analysis 2: Zimbabwe

Transcription

1 Country Context Analysis 2: Zimbabwe 1. Introduction The population census of 2002 put Zimbabwe s population at 11.6 million, while the labour force survey (LFS) of 2004, which excluded outmigrants, visitors and students in boarding schools included in the former, estimated it at 10.8 million. Comparing the 2002 population to that of 1992 (10.4 million) gives an average yearly growth rate of 1.2 percent, a decline in the yearly average rate of population growth compared to the 3.9 percent recorded during the period The figures of the World Bank put the 2000 population at million, and the 2010 population at million. This slowdown in population growth reflects a combined impact of the HIV and AIDS pandemic and of migration 1. Migration accelerated since 2005, while the impact of HIV/AIDS gradually decreased. Latest estimates suggest that Zimbabwe s population stands at 13 million 2 with a labour force participation rate of 60% for females and 74.3% for males in 2009 (see 2011 UNDP Human Development Report, page 141). The 1995/96 and 2003 National Poverty Assessment Study Surveys (PASS I and II respectively), suggest that poverty has increased markedly in both the urban and rural areas. The percentage of the population below the Total Consumption Poverty Line (TCPL) increased from 55% (42% of households) in 1995 to 72% (63%) by 2003, an increase of 30%. 3 Reliable recent data are lacking however. Objectives & Result Areas I MoFa policy Priority Result areas (Food Security &Safety and Security) I.1. Food security: Improved legislation on minimum and living wage I.2. Food security: Increased willingness companies to provide living wage I.3. Security and rule of law: Policies & regulations by authorities to protect TU and Workers' Rights developed & sanctions applied. I.4. Security and rule of law: In case of TU & Workers Rights violations by companies, corrective measures applied II. Capacity Development II.1. Greater mobilising power TU movement II.2. Greater organisational strength TU movement to achieve collective objectives II.3. Increased recognition of TU movement and insertion in social forums II.4. Greater capacity TU movement to change methods & models to maintain & increase relevance and impact II.5. Greater capacity TU movement to work towards more unified strategies while maintaining diversity in representation III. Decent Work agenda III.1. New & improved (amendments on) labour, employment & social security legislation, agreements & treaties formulated & implemented. III.2. Mechanisms and forums for tri-partite social dialogue are developed, institutionalized and effective. III.3. Programmes for decent jobs and employment policies by authorities as result of proposals by TU's III.4. Companies provide decent employment, limit use precarious work & provide protection & social security for contract & outsourced workers III.5. Functioning social dialogue with companies at all levels. IV. Informal Economy IV.1. New & improved (amendments on) labour, employment & social security legislation, agreements & treaties formulated & implemented in informal sectors. IV.2. Programmes for decent jobs and employment policies by authorities as result of proposals by TU's in informal sectors. V. Gender V.1. New & improved (amendments on) labour, employment & social security legislation, agreements & treaties formulated & implemented with clauses aimed at improving women s position V.2. Companies at all levels (public and private) improve working conditions for women. V.3. TU Movement is more gender responsive. VI. Local and Dutch Trade Unions agendas connected VI.1. Increased commitment of FNV unions for international cooperation in a gender balanced way. Feminisation of poverty in Zimbabwe manifests itself through a higher prevalence rate of poverty among female-headed households, with 68% of all female-headed households living under the TCPL in Thus, poverty has a rural face and a woman s face. The Human Development Indicator (HDI) and Human Poverty Index (HPI) for Zimbabwe show significant declines. The indicators worsened between 1995 and 2009: the HPI fell from 24% in 1995 to 40.3% in 2005, but rose again to 34% in Zimbabwe With a gender inequality index of 0.583, Zimbabwe is ranked 118 out of 145 countries in Inequality as measured by the Gini-coefficient increased from 0.53 in 1995 to 0.61 in 2003, implying a more unequal income distribution between the few rich people, while the majority became poorer. Since its Independence in 1980 until 2008 Zimbabwe has been governed by one party, the ZANU-PF 4. The socio-economic crises since 1990 caused a lot of protest by unions and civil society groups, which eventually resulted into the birth of an opposition party, the MDC. The existence of a relevant opposition leads however to limitations of civil rights and repression from the side of ZANU-PF. The EU decided upon targeted sanctions against ZANU-PF politicians and their enterprises. In 2008 the economy came to a meltdown: there was hyperinflation, nothing for sale in the shops with acute food shortages, and education and health care were not functioning any longer. 1 The CIA factbook 2012 mentions a migration of per 1000; the World Bank statistics mention a migration of 900,000 in the year 2010, as against 200,000 in The 2012 national Budget Statement presented to Parliament on 24 November 2011 by the Minister of Finance, page 71. The 2011 Human Development Report of UNDP estimates it at 12.8 million in 2011, close to the estimate of 13 million in the Mid-Term Fiscal Review of 26 July The Total Consumption Poverty Line is the level of income at which people can meet their basic food and non-food needs, while the Food Poverty Line meets only the food needs. 4 Until late 1988 Mugabe s ZANU ruled the country, in 1988 a united government was formed with the other party which fought for independence: ZAPU. This after a period of repression and bloodshed in Matabeleland, the area where ZAPU had most supporters. 1

2 Parliamentary and presidential elections in March 2008 brought a victory to MDC, although already split in two: the biggest MDC-Tvangirai (MDC-T) and the much smaller MDC-Mutumbara (MDC-M) 5. Run-off elections for the presidency were announced. In the preparation for those elections violence and intimidation from the side of ZANU-PF became so bad that opposition leader Morgan Tsvangirai withdrew, and Robert Mugabe was the only candidate and became the winner in June The Global Political Agreement (GPA) signed on the 15 th of September 2008 recognized President Mugabe of ZANU-PF as the Head of State; Morgan Tsvangirai of MDC-T became Prime Minister. Although open violence ended with the GPA, progress towards a new constitution and abolishment of repressive legislation remains lagging behind. Since the introduction of the US dollar as the currency in use in the beginning of 2009, the hyperinflation stopped and goods became available. In the beginning of 2009 the Government of National Unity (GNU) took office. The ministries crucial to remain control over justice, security and national resources are under ZANU-PF. Repressive legislation, amongst which the POSA (Public Organisation Security Act), which severely limits the rights to organise, and the AIPPA (Access to Information and Protection of Privacy Act), which restricts the freedom of expression, are still in existence. This implies repressive legislation on unions, while ILO core conventions on union and worker s rights have been signed and ratified. The current main social and economic challenges in Zimbabwe include: High levels of unemployment, especially among youth. The estimated amount of formal jobs was 1.2 million in 1998 and 480,000 in Within the employment there is a lack of Decent Work. 72% of the population was below the poverty line by 2003, up from 55% in 1995; Growing informalisation and deepening dualism in the economy: 4 out of 5 jobs were informalised by 2004; Increasing inequality: the Gini-coefficient increased from 0.53 in 1995 to 0.61 in 2003; A dis-functioning social sector, in particular education, healthcare and sanitation; and Inadequate and dilapidated social infrastructure, including erratic supply of electricity and water, resulting in outbreaks of diseases. The current political context calls for attention on the priority result area of Security and Rule of Law, focusing on actions and lobby and advocacy to improve labour legislation and protection of worker s rights, as well as to engage in dialogue with Government and Private Sector to promote Decent Work in the country and to contribute to concrete programme initiatives. Under the priority result areas of Decent Work and Gender FNV and partners are planning to engage in negotiation with employer s organisations and companies to improve the quality of work and to implement proper dialogue mechanisms at the national sectoral and at company level. Under the priority result areas of Capacity Development and Gender, FNV sees a need to support management and leadership in TU s with special attention for women, increase the capacity to mobilise and organise and to improve the quality of training and service delivery. Among the unions in the Netherlands there is much interest in Zimbabwe and they have provided solidarity support and will continue doing so. 2. Analysis of target groups An important target group in Zimbabwe are the workers needing para-legal advice and assistance, after unfair dismissals. This because dismissal is often based on political grounds in Zimbabwe, and is linked to the overall lack of rights in the country. There is a very clear need for this support, and it has been a component of the work of the trade union ZCTU for many years. Further focus is on workers with very low salaries, and working in insecure conditions, in sectors often dominated by politicians of Mugabe s ZANU-PF (agriculture, private security, less the case in construction). The motivation to focus on this large group is twofold in terms of Decent Work deficits: there is a clear need for socio-economic improvements of these groups, and social dialogue is difficult in these sectors, because the strong links between employers in agriculture and security with the party that has most actual control. In construction and quarrying there is the general trend of outsourcing, subcontracting and short term contracts. Chinese companies are becoming more prevalent and do not recognise unions. The selection of these groups is a result of consultations with the partners in Zimbabwe. Special attention is needed for women working in agriculture and in the private security. The participation of women in these low paid and rather unprotected sector is high, while attention for gender issues is low. In collective bargaining, needs and demands of women are not always sufficiently taken into account. One of the reasons is that women are under-represented in leadership positions in most unions and therefore need to be targeted within training programmes, in order to promote women leadership. 3. Problem analysis (micro, meso and macro-level) At the local level, workers lack employment opportunities, social security and face a lack of rule of law and respect for basic human rights. Seasonal food shortages have occurred over the last years, especially in the rural areas. Poverty has a female and a rural face. Political intimidation is a frequent phenomenon. At workplace level many workers fear loss of jobs because of being associated to trade unions. Social dialogue formally can exist, but in case it is not complied, workers have little possibilities to keep managers accountable. To curb the number of union members, the employers are now employing workers on contractual basis of usually three months. In most cases when these employees join a trade union their contracts are not renewed. Zimbabwe s transfer to the US dollar in 2009 meant that the existing social security systems have lost their value and that workers currently lack social security. 5 MDC-M became in the meantime MDC-N, after its present leader Welshman Ncube. 2

3 At the national level, several labour laws in Zimbabwe are openly contradicting with the signed and ratified ILO conventions. Moreover, laws are not implemented, and police can even act against the enforcement of laws. Some Zimbabwean laws severely restrict the right to organise and freedom of expression. This limits trade union organisation and activities, and causes a clear lack of protection for all workers. Unemployment in Zimbabwe is a serious problem and of the employed, most work in the informal economy. For this reason employment creation, including upgrading the informal economy, is part of the Zimbabwe Decent Work Country Programme. Also the confederation of Employers in Zimbabwe, EMCOZ, recognizes the need for national employment policies. Since the massive attack on the informal economy during operation Marambatsvina in , from time to time informal economy workers, especially street vendors in the so-called High Density areas, have been attacked for political reasons. Salaries paid in the formal economy are generally low and far below the poverty line. Minimum wage is sectoral, and for some sectors extremely low, like in agriculture, domestic work and private security. There is no uniform social security system, and most workers have very poor or no coverage at all. Social Dialogue at the national level is not functioning well because of the overruling power by President Mugabe. The political violence since 2000 has targeted union leaders and activists. Companies retrenching workers because of the economic crises often first lay off union activists and members. In this way many members who were trained for union services and campaigns got lost for the movement. After years of hyperinflation and a closed economy, unions found it difficult to define collective bargaining demands in a dollarized economy, with high costs of living and low wages. Under hyperinflation it made no sense to keep systematic data bases on inflation, wages within sectors and industries and to exchange data within the sub region, but now these data are needed. Unions have too little experiences with restructuring of enterprises and with new investors, like the Chinese. Because of a precarious financial situation caused by membership loss and high price levels, most unions cannot run their own education programmes at the moment, nor can offer sufficient services to their members or perform well informed collective bargaining. Strategies enabling the unions to deal with the present day realities need to be redefined, and the unions will need external support to upgrade their skills and to define new ways in working in order to regain relevance. 4. Context analysis During the emerging socio-economic crises in the nineties the unions played an important opposition role, organising massive strikes. Because of this past of resilience, the ZCTU is still well respected among civil society and a large part of the poorer population in Zimbabwe, and is hated by the ZANU-PF government. Zimbabwe unions have had a relative strong tradition of trade union education. The ZCTU facilitated education programmes for the unions which included broader awareness training, like on human and workers rights and democracy. Many members of unions affiliated to ZCTU became activists for MDC. The violence after the elections in 2008 targeted however many union activists and ordinary members. The economic meltdown had already resulted in highly increased unemployment, and union members and activists were overrepresented among those who lost their jobs 7. While the ZCTU has broadened its base by facilitation of an informal economy association (ZCIEA), the new self employed members do not compensate for the loss in membership in the formal economy. The ILO decided at its 2008 Congress, after having received for several years serious reports on violations of trade union rights in Zimbabwe, to perform a Mission of Inquiry in Zimbabwe, which is the strongest instrument the ILO can use. This mission took place in 2009 and confirmed all the violations of union and workers rights including assassinations of union activists, unlawful arrests and intimidation of workers as well as employers 8. The mission recommended to adopt an overall Labour Relations Act, which would harmonise labour legislation in line with the ratified ILO conventions and substitute restrictive and repressive legislation; the right to organise under a trade union should be extended; especially in the public sector; legal training for the police and for judges was needed. It also recommended an independent social dialogue forum covering all sectors. The Government of Zimbabwe accepted the recommendations of this mission; implementation is however far behind on all major issues. Although in 2009 some former ZCTU leaders and activists got positions as government officials and parliamentarians, the ZCTU is still taking a critical position towards the GPA and the following Government of National Unity. Workers education continued, including on civil rights and workers rights. ZCTU loosened its links with MDC, and continued campaigning for restoration of union and worker s rights. Unions had not only suffered from the political violence, they also lost most of their income after the introduction of the US dollar in the beginning of Most unions started concentrating on reorganising on traditional union issues, in which a living wage and social security are important. The organ for social dialogue, the TNF (Tripartite Negotiations Forum) was re-established in 2010, with support of the ILO, the TNF could potentially be a useful organ in renewal of social security in Zimbabwe, encouraging social dialogue at all levels for all types of workers. The TNF could be the platform for the public sector, of which parts, just like the self-employed workers, have no legal negotiations base at the moment. A draft mandate and legislation for the TNF has been developed, in which the ZTU had a strong input. This has not been approved yet, which implies that President Mugabe still has control over the TNF and the Forum is not really active at present. 6 UN Special Envoy Anna Tibaijika wrote an extensive report on this operation, ruining many informal settlements, including the informal businesses. 7 The anti union tactics by government and employers are well described by Raftopoulos, Brian 2009, The Crisis in Zimbabwe in B. Raftopoulos and A. Mlambo (eds.) Becoming Zimbabwe. A History from the Pre-Colonial Period to 2008, Harare: Weaver Press. 8 ILO 2009, Truth, Reconciliation and Justice in Zimbabwe. Report of the Commission of Inquiry appointed under article 26 of the Constitution of the International Labour Organization to examine the observance by the Government of Zimbabwe of the Freedom of Association and Protection of the Right to Organise Convention, 1948 (No. 87), and the Right to Organise and Collective Bargaining Convention, 1949 (No. 98), Geneva: International Labour Office 3

4 The ZCTU faced a split in The reasons behind are not politically motivated, but have to do with internal leadership ambitions. The smaller groups splitting off are dominated by a group of public services unions and unions working in para-statal enterprises, of which the Progressive Teachers Union of Zimbabwe (PTUZ) is the biggest. It is likely that these unions are also motivated by a wish to have more influence on the line ministries relevant for their profession. In a context of a hardly functioning TNF, not representing the state sector, these unions have less interest in striving for social dialogue as part of the ZCTU. The General Agricultural and Plantations Workers Union in Zimbabwe (GAPWUZ) is an important union in Zimbabwe. It is relatively big in membership, a reflection of the relative importance of agriculture in the country 9. Agricultural workers have suffered from the land reform programme and the GAPWUZ played a courageous role in showing the consequences of the expropriations for the workers 10. Wages in agriculture and plantations are far below the poverty line. About 50% of the workers are female, especially in flowers and horticulture. Casual and seasonal labour, especially for women, is increasing as against permanent labour. Food security is not guaranteed at all for these workers. Social dialogue with the new owners at farm level is often problematic. In 2004 the ZCTU set up the Labour and Economic Development Institute of Zimbabwe (LEDRIZ), with the aim to get reliable and independent socio-economic data. LEDRIZ works closely together with similar trade union research institutes in Africa. Through its network, LEDRIZ collects data on sectoral wages and agreements within the sub-region. Within this network it did a study on Chinese investments, and recently a study on social security. LEDRIZ provides practical research and training to unions and the ZCTU, works closely with the ILO, and has done a lot of preparatory work for the reestablishment and mandate of the TNF. LEDRIZ has good links with the UN bodies, and provides the ZCTU with the data needed for lobby on socioeconomic issues. LEDRIZ helps the ZCTU in providing operational proposals for the third Decent Work Country Programme for Zimbabwe, starting in 2012, with focus on employment for the poorest layers in society. It has helped the Ministry of Education to revise the vocational training, to harmonise with present job demands, but this plan still awaits cabinet approval. It prepares briefings for parliamentarians, and has contacts with several ministries in relation to labour issues. Summarising the situation of the labour movement in Zimbabwe in terms of organisational capacity, we present the following SWOT table: Strengths Weaknesses Endurance from all the political pressure Drop in membership because of political and Solidarity both at regional and international level economic crises in 2008 still not overcome Technical capacity recognised by employers Discontinuity at lower and middle leadership Big professional organisations recently affiliated to the ZCTU level because many activists left country or Autonomy from political parties were dismissed in 2008 Easy access to a number of Government Ministries, like Labour and Dependence on donor funding Social Services, Education and Public Service Gender imbalance at decision making Well developed and recognised research institute (LEDRIZ) positions at most affiliate unions National network of branches Split of ZCTU, group of unions working partly Tradition of working on gender issues in a parallel way, partly with own policies, Tradition of legal training and relative high level of awareness on rights especially regarding state enterprises and Organisation in informal economy public sector Opportunities Revision of the Labour Act is a requirement of the ILO Implementation of the ILO Commission of Inquiry Recommendations Strengthening of the body for national Social Dialogue, the Tripartite Negotiating Forum (TNF), through the establishment of an independent secretariat Unions are motivated to organise because of financial need. Goodwill among civil society Development of the third phase of the Zimbabwe Decent Work Country Programme Threats Fragile / highly volatile macroeconomic and political environment Economic uncertainties emanating from implementation of the Indigenisation and Empowerment Act Employers increasingly part of or linked to the former political elite Informalisation of the economy Reduction of donor funding due to the global financial and economic crisis Disruptions, violence and disrespect for rule of law because of new elections 5. Stakeholder analysis Relations between the unions and employers confederation EMCOZ are tense, mainly because ZANU-PF politicians have also strong positions in EMCOZ. EMCOZ is however committed to employment creation, and gets support from DANIDA for a youth programme. Government is still a difficult force to deal with. Although some ministries, like Labour, show openness, relations with other ministries are problematic and will remain difficult as long as ZANU-PF hard-liners have strongest positions. Change will come, but not without risks of new intervals of repression and violence. Relevant International and Dutch actors are: Actor Dutch PSD-actors Complementarity 9 17,4 % of GPR in 2010 according to World Bank statistics 10 RAU-JAG 2009, If something is wrong... The invisible suffering of commercial farm workers and their families due to Land Reform. Report produced for the General Agricultural & Plantation Workers Union of Zimbabwe [GAPWUZ] by the Research and Advocacy Unit [RAU] and the Justice For Agriculture [JAG] Trust, Harare. Available at 4

5 PUM Is interested in starting in Zimbabwe FMO Has carefully started in Zimbabwe SNV Active in agriculture Other Dutch Actors Zimbabwe Coordinating platform for information, lobby and advocacy; FNV is active participant of ZimWatch Watch MFS: HIVOS Human rights; media; microfinance; gender; culture; ICT Oxfam-Novib Peace building and reconciliation; sustainable livelihoods; building resilience; women s rights and ICCO, HIV/AIDs; Cordaid Conflict transformation; orphans and vulnerable children; health Health sector reform (World Bank supported) Netherlands Human rights; Political and economic transition; JOMIC (Joint Monitoring and Implementation Committee); Embassy NIMD, Amnesty International Action Aid Netherlands the Multi Donor Trust Fund. Plays an active coordinating role. Promoting political stability through stimulating inter party dialogue Human rights: research, defence, resilience Debt, Kimberly Process / exploitation of mineral resources, rural women. International actors ILO ZEN Other SSO s: LO-N, LO-TCO, LO-TFT CLC Canada TUC-UK, Solidarity Center USA FES FOS Olof Palme Centre UN WB UNICEF The ILO has been assisting the tripartite partners in Zimbabwe in setting up social dialogue. The ILO has also assisted in the development of the Decent Work Country Programme, National Employment Policy Framework, National Labour Migration Policy and the set-up of the Training for Rural Economic Empowerment (TREE) Programme Zimbabwe Europe Network for joint lobby and information Organisational support to ZCTU (LO-N);Litigation and information project ZCTU (LO-TCO) Constitutional education ZCTU, Health and Safety Informal economy organisation ZCIEA Informal economy association ZCIEA Exchange for ZCTU; newsletter; modest support to LEDRIZ Short term research, publications and networking in relation to rights ZCTU on gender; LEDRIZ ZCTU on women; GAPWUZ. The UN has assisted the government and social partners through UNDAF. Priorities: Good governance for sustainable development; Pro-poor sustainable growth and economic development; Food security at household and national levels; Sound management and use of the environment; Access to and utilisation of quality basic social services for all; Universal access to HIV prevention, treatment, care and support; and Women s empowerment, gender equality and equity. The WB is currently assisting the Ministry of Finance and Ministry of Public Services in setting up a wage and salary policy for the civil service sector. UNICEF has helped the Ministry of Labour and Social Services in the Programme of Support (POS) for the National Action Plan for Orphans and Vulnerable Children (OVC) For a more complete analysis of these stakeholders and FNV s and partner s complementarity, see section P.4 and official Annex Analysis of the context-relevance of the proposed programme The context analysis, presented above can be translated as follows in the country programme. The following outcomes have been formulated for Zimbabwe: Objectives/Results Outcome challenges at country/sector level Link with context analysis I. MoFA Development Policy Priority Result areas (Food Security & Safety and Security) I.3. Security and rule of law: Policy and regulations by authorities to protect TU and workers rights developed and sanctions applied II. Capacity Development II.1. Greater mobilising power TU movement ILC scrutinises, as a result of TU pressure, Zimbabwe s progress on implementation of recommendations of ILO investigation. Violation of trade union and workers rights; not functioning social dialogue; implementation [of recommendations ILO mission] is however far behind on all major issues (par 4, page 3). Unions in growth sectors are most unions cannot run their own implementing training, education and education programmes at the recruitment at all levels. moment, nor can offer sufficient services to their members or potentially new members (par 3, page 3). II.2. Greater organisational strength TU A selected number of TUs have Strategies enabling the unions to deal 5

6 movement to achieve collective objectives III. Decent Work agenda III.2. Mechanisms and forums for tripartite social dialogue are developed, institutionalized and effective III.3. Design and development of programmes for decent jobs and employment policies (including access to education) by authorities as a result of proposals by TU s or labour NGO s or workers groups, with particular emphasis on economic growth sectors III.4. Companies at all levels (public and private) provide decent employment, limit the use of precarious work and provide protection and social security for contract and outsourced workers. V. Gender V.2. Companies at all levels (public and private) improve working conditions for women V3. TU movement is more gender responsive VI. Local and Dutch Trade Unions agendas connected VI.1. Increased commitment of FNV unions for international cooperation in a gender balanced way started using strategic plans, including financial strategies. A selected group of TUs use relevant data on inflation and wages in cba s. Trade unions can defend members in cases of unfair dismissals or gender related discrimination. TNF will function independent from presidency. An employment programme for Decent Work, including informal work, has been tabled at relevant ministries because of TUs initiative. An increased number of farm owners recognize the need for decent employment and adhere to it. An increased number of construction companies provide equal employment conditions for permanent, casual and outsourced workers. Cba s in in a selected group of companies have new clauses improving working conditions for women. Women leadership training programmes in place within ZCTU and affiliated unions. Dutch unions continue taking action in case of arbitrary arrest of union leaders. Dutch unions contribute to an increased extend financially to work of sister unions in Zimbabwe with the present day realities need to be redefined (par 3, page 3) now these [systematic wage and inflation information] data are needed (par 3, page 3) many members who were trained for union services and campaigns got lost for the movement (par 3, page 3) It [ILO] also recommended an independent social dialogue forum covering all sectors (par 4, page 3) High levels of unemployment, especially among youth. The estimated amount of formal jobs was 1.2 million in 1998 and 480,000 in Within the employment Decent Work deficits. (par 1, page 2),,,very low salaries, and working in insecure conditions, in sectors... (agriculture ) (par 2, page 2) In construction and quarrying there is the general trend of outsourcing, subcontracting and short term contracts (par 2, page 2) In collective bargaining, needs and demands of women are not always sufficiently taken into account (par 2, page 2) Women are under-represented in leadership positions in most unions (par 2, page 2) The political violence since 2000 has targeted union leaders and activists (par 3, page 3); Disruptions, violence and disrespect for rule of law because of new elections (par 4, page 4) Among the unions in the Netherlands there is much interest in Zimbabwe and they have provided solidarity support and will continue doing so (par 1, page 2) A summarised SWOT analysis of Zimbabwe country programme is given below: Strengths Weaknesses o Partners are respected in Zimbabwean civil society and by international organisations o Weak financial situation of trade unions and ZCTU and dependence on donors for all partners o Partners are highly motivated and have competent staff o Loss of experienced and trained staff in unions o Country wide representation of unions o Several unions lack experience on operating in a o Partners have good relations with ILO and UN-organisations liberalised and competitive economy o Strong and diverse networks (TU solidarity support, Zimwatch, o Underrepresentation of women at leadership level ZEN) in place o Links with national NGOs and other civil society o Support and commitment from FNV unions organisations not really strong Opportunities Threats o Making use of ILO interest and mechanisms in order to achieve o Competition amongst unions labour and union rights o Employers resistance. o Partners can use networks to learn from experiences from o Trade union rights violations unions in neighbouring countries o Human rights violations o Partners can use the new Decent Work Country Programme o Volatile political environment, new violence o Good links with politicians, several ministries and international possible in case of elections or political changes donors in order to influence programmes on employment and social security o Deterioration of the macroeconomic environment, incoherent policies, dysfunctional economy o There is a good potential for increasing unions membership and even more when investments will increase o Continuation of or new repressive laws o There is experience with gender specific approaches, and the will to revive those is there 6

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