By Takudzwa Changadeya
Harare – The Zimbabwe Congress of Trade Unions (ZCTU) has described 2024 as a “difficult year for workers,” calling it an “annus horribilis” due to the severe challenges faced by Zimbabwean workers.
In a Christmas and New Year message released on December 20, the ZCTU lamented the lack of improvements in workers’ lives and highlighted numerous economic and social problems.
“During the course of the year, the working people of Zimbabwe have been confronted with, among others: lack of serious consultation on serious policy issues like the introduction of the Zig currency,” the statement read.
The unilateral devaluation of the Zig currency, according to the ZCTU, worsened the plight of workers, with wages falling far below the poverty line.
The union criticized what it called “poverty/slavery wages” averaging only US$300 monthly, against a poverty datum line of over US$500.
High inflation, punitive taxation, and skyrocketing prices also compounded workers’ hardships. “Shocking price increases and over-the-roof inflation levels” were cited as key issues.
Zimbabwe’s collapsing infrastructure, including its health and education systems, was also condemned.
The ZCTU noted that the health system had “failed to recover from collapse,” leaving treatable diseases unchecked. Education, they said, was in “chaos” with ongoing threats of strikes by underpaid teachers.
Furthermore, the ZCTU decried widespread unemployment and the decimation of industrial productivity due to erratic water and electricity supplies.
Over 80% of the population, it stated, continues to live in endemic poverty.
The union expressed concerns over excessive taxation.
“The Finance Minister’s 2025 budget is hinged on brutal taxation by introducing other taxes such as Fast Food Tax, Betting Tax, and Plastic Bag Tax,” the ZCTU stated, warning that over-taxation could drive talent out of the country.
Despite the grim outlook, the ZCTU encouraged workers to remain strong, highlighting the need to fight for economic reforms in 2025.
