The Commercial Workers Union, the largest affiliate of the Zimbabwe Congress of Trade Unions, was paralysed following an internal coup which saw union president Lucia Matibenga being ousted and replaced by a new leadership.
Matibenga had won a court injunction preventing the rebels from conducting union business but another judge had subsequently ruled in favour of the rebel union members.
Full cable:
Viewing cable 05HARARE981, ZCTU CRISIS CONTINUES
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This record is a partial extract of the original cable. The full text of the original cable is not available.
181415Z Jul 05
ACTION AF-00
INFO LOG-00 AID-00 USNW-00 ACQ-00 CIAE-00 CTME-00 DODE-00
EB-00 EUR-00 E-00 VC-00 FRB-00 TEDE-00 INR-00
IO-00 LAB-01 L-00 VCE-00 AC-00 NSAE-00 OIC-00
OIG-00 OMB-00 PA-00 PM-00 PRS-00 ACE-00 P-00
SP-00 SSO-00 SS-00 STR-00 T-00 BBG-00 IIP-00
PMB-00 DRL-00 G-00 SAS-00 /001W
——————173415 190147Z /62
FM AMEMBASSY HARARE
TO SECSTATE WASHDC 8596
INFO SOUTHERN AFRICAN DEVELOPMENT COMMUNITY
AMEMBASSY ABUJA
AMEMBASSY ACCRA
AMEMBASSY ADDIS ABABA
AMEMBASSY DAKAR
AMEMBASSY KAMPALA
AMEMBASSY NAIROBI
AMEMBASSY PARIS
AMEMBASSY ROME
NSC WASHDC
USEU BRUSSELS
USMISSION GENEVA
USMISSION USUN NEW YORK
DEPT OF LABOR WASHDC
DEPT OF TREASURY WASHDC
DEPT OF COMMERCE WASHDC
C O N F I D E N T I A L HARARE 000981
SIPDIS
SENSITIVE
AF FOR DAS T. WOODS
AF/S FOR B. NEULING
OVP FOR NULAND
NSC FOR DNSA ABRAMS, SENIOR AFRICA DIRECTOR C. COURVILLE
USDOC FOR ROBERT TELCHIN
TREASURY FOR OREN WYCHE-SHAW
PASS USTR FOR FLORIZELLE LISER
STATE PASS USAID FOR MARJORIE COPSON
USDOL FOR ROBERT YOUNG
USMISSION GENEVA FOR JOHN CHAMBERLAIN
E.O. 12958: DECL: 12/31/2010
SUBJECT: ZCTU CRISIS CONTINUES
REF: A. A. HARARE 617
¶B. B. HARARE 671
¶C. C. HARARE 703
Classified By: Charge d’ Affaires a.i. under Section 1.4 b/d
——–
Summary
——–
¶1. (C) Zimbabwe Congress of Trade Unions, (ZCTU) Information
Officer Mlamleli Sibanda told PolOff on July 15 that two
separate ZCTU meetings were disrupted within the past week by
&trouble-maker8 unions (Ref A and B). In one meeting, four
women were beaten up badly by several men. Sibanda added
that the Commercial Workers Union of Zimbabwe,s leadership
battle is stuck in court, leaving the ZCTU without the full
engagement of its largest affiliate. End Summary.
—————————
ZCTU In-Fighting Continues
—————————
¶2. (C) According to Sibanda, two separate meetings were
disrupted within the past week by the &trouble-maker8
unions, which were now calling themselves the Aggrieved
Affiliates Worker,s Union (AAWU). On July 9, a ZCTU
Women,s Advisory Council meeting was disrupted when 20 men
barged in and assaulted those in attendance – mostly women.
Four women were beaten up badly, including the Women,s
Advisory Council,s Chairperson Phoebe Vhareta and Secretary
Tabitha Khumalo. On July 13, two men tried to scuttle a
Pensions Workshop by starting minor scuffles. However, the
police were called and took custody of the two men and the
meeting continued.
¶3. (C) Sibanda told PolOff that these incidents were
spearheaded by the AAWU, which had failed to change the ZCTU
leadership in May (Ref B). Although the AAWU included the
Zimbabwe Leather Shoes and Allied Workers Union, the
Transport and General Workers Union, and the Zimbabwe
Construction and Allied Workers Union, Sibanda asserted that
only the leadership and a small minority of each union
actually supported the effort. He categorically dismissed
the AAWU,s assertion that it represented 19 ZCTU affiliates,
stating that such a number would represent a majority of the
ZCTU General Council and be enough to make whatever changes
they wanted.
—————————————-
Commercial Workers Union Still Paralyzed
—————————————-
¶4. (C) Sibanda said the Commercial Workers Union of Zimbabwe
(CWOZ) remained paralyzed, as it had been since a group
claiming to be members held an impromptu meeting in May to
change the union,s leadership (Ref C). CWOZ President Lucia
Matibenga and the rest of the unions, leadership had won an
injunction preventing the rebels from conducting union
business in June. However, another judge had subsequently
ruled July 13 in favor of the rebel union members. Sibanda
told PolOff that Matibenga and the CWOZ leadership had
appealed this latest ruling, but in the interval ZCTU was
effectively without the full engagement of its largest
affiliate.
——–
Comment
——–
¶5. (C) After failing to change the ZCTU leadership in May,
the &renegade8 affiliates have re-organized themselves as
the AAWU and re-doubled their efforts to disrupt and paralyze
the ZCTU. The AAWU and the renegade CWOZ group have
effectively mired the ZCTU in intra- and inter-affiliate
strife. For now, a distracted ZCTU will probably continue to
be largely invisible in Zimbabwean political and social life
as its membership (and the rest of Zimbabwe) suffer through
social and economic turmoil.
SCHULTZ
NNNN
(125 VIEWS)
