Zimbabwe Congress of Trade Unions - zctu

30/10/2026

The Zimbabwe Congress of Trade Unions (ZCTU) today held its 10th Pre-Congress Workshop to deliberate on critical policy issues affecting workers and develop proposed resolutions that will shape the labour movement's strategic direction and mandate for the incoming executive.
The workshop, held ahead of the main Congress scheduled for tomorrow, 31 October 2026, provided a platform for delegates to examine Zimbabwe's economic and labour market challenges and formulate responses that will guide the organisation's work in the coming years.
Discussions focused on the state of Zimbabwe's economy between 2021 and 2026, examining the major economic challenges, factors affecting economic performance and their implications for workers. Particular attention was given to the country's debt situation, with presentations exploring both domestic and external debt and their implications for economic recovery, public expenditure and workers' welfare.
The workshop also deliberated on the growing challenges associated with informality, taxation and the expansion of the gig economy, as well as the broader implications of these developments for the future of work in Zimbabwe.
Delegates examined decent work deficits within the gig economy, including challenges relating to job security, social protection, fair remuneration, workers' rights and access to collective bargaining. The discussions highlighted the need for labour policies and institutional frameworks that respond to changing employment patterns while ensuring that workers in emerging forms of employment are not left behind.
The issue of informality also featured prominently, particularly the need to address the structural challenges that push many Zimbabweans into precarious and unprotected forms of employment. Discussions underscored the importance of formalisation strategies that promote decent work, protect livelihoods and extend labour rights and social protection to workers in the informal economy.
Taxation and its implications for workers, businesses and the broader economy were also considered as part of the wider debate on economic justice and the creation of an enabling environment for sustainable economic development.
The deliberations were aimed at developing practical resolutions that respond to the changing world of work and the realities confronting Zimbabwean workers.
Importantly, the outcomes of the Pre-Congress Workshop will form the basis of the strategic direction and mandate of the incoming ZCTU executive. The proposed resolutions will therefore provide a policy framework to guide the new leadership's engagement with government, employers and other stakeholders on economic and labour-related matters.
The resolutions are expected to be presented to the main Congress tomorrow for debate and adoption, marking an important step in defining the priorities of the labour movement for the next leadership term.
Through the process, the ZCTU seeks to strengthen its capacity to respond to emerging labour market challenges, defend workers' rights and advance economic and social justice, decent work and social protection for all workers in Zimbabwe.

30/10/2026

All is set for the ZCTU 10th General Conference that will usher in a new leadership for the next 5 years (2026-2031). Today is the Pre-Conference workshop day that will come up with proposed resolutions for adoption by congress tomorrow.

19/10/2026

THROWBACK : 3RD YOUNG WORKERS CONGRESS IN PICTURES

19/10/2026

BELATED : Remarks for World Day for Decent Work

​Date: 7 October 2026

Theme: RIGHT FOR DEMOCRACY: YOUNG WORKERS
ORGANISING FOR THE FUTURE

Comrades, fellow workers, today, as Zimbabwe joins millions of working people across the world to mark World Day for Decent Work, we do not gather merely to mark a date on the calendar.

We gather to audit our reality, to renew our struggle, and to reclaim our fundamental human rights. Decent work is not a philanthropic gift from employers or government. It is an inalienable constitutional right enshrined in Section 65 of the Constitution of Zimbabwe.

To us decent work means a living wage paid in a stable currency, safe workplaces, protected and guaranteed social security, and the absolute freedom to organize, bargain, and strike without fear of state or corporate victimisation.

This year’s global theme, “Right for Democracy: Young Workers Organising for the Future” speaks directly to the existential crisis facing Zimbabwe’s labour force today.

Let us be boldly honest about the severe obstacles confronting Zimbabwean workers from attaining decent work:
 Weak enforcement of labour laws.
 Poor wages and remunerations.
 Decoupled Social Protection and Pension Value Loss.
 Mass Informalisation and Precarious Employment.
 Unemployment and inadequate job creation.
 Severe Real-Wage Erosion and Currency Distortions.
 Systemic Attacks on Freedom of Association.
 Substandard Health and Safety Infrastructure.

As we reflect on these challenges, we must also look inward and evaluate the state of our labour movement. The labour movement in Zimbabwe stands at a strategic defining moment.

Historical economic shocks, factory closures, and informalisation
have eroded traditional industrial union membership bases. We face internal fragmentation, sustainability constraints, and an outdated organizational framework that historically catered primarily to formal shop floors while leaving informal workers,
platform workers, and rural labourers on the periphery.

On foreign investors who are fuelling precarious work our thrust is that we must be at the centre of demanding that government must only approve investments that respects workers, strengthens collective bargaining, creates secure employment and contributes to social justice – not investment attracted by cheap and vulnerable
labour.

Furthermore, young workers have often felt alienated from formal trade union governance. Tokenistic representation is no longer acceptable. If the trade union movement does not adapt to organize where workers actually are, it risks becoming obsolete. We must rebuild internal union democracy, restore ideological clarity, and build an inclusive, modern, and militant movement that unites formal, informal, and platform workers under one banner.

As we approach the 10th Elective ZCTU National Elective Congress, the working class must demand that this gathering is not reduced to mere leadership contests. It must be a transformative congress of strategy and action.

The upcoming Congress must decisively resolve to:
1. Launch a Mass Organizing Drive: Formally integrate informal worker associations and digital platform workers into ZCTU affiliate structures, guaranteeing them collective bargaining support, legal aid, and social protection frameworks.
2. Establish a Defence Fund for Victimised Workers: Build a sustainable national solidarity fund to defend union organizers, shop stewards, and workers facing legal persecution, unlawful dismissals, or state harassment.
3. Demand Constitutional Living Wage Indexation: Formulate a unified national bargaining strategy that mandates all National Employment Councils (NECs) to index minimum wages directly to the Poverty Datum Line in value-preserving currency.

The world of work is transforming rapidly, and Zimbabwean workers cannot be left behind. The Future of Work is already here, driven by artificial intelligence, digital gig platforms, climate change, and energy transitions.
 Digital and Platform Work: The gig economy must not become a code word for legal tax evasion and worker exploitation. Platform companies operating in Zimbabwe must recognize workers rights to organize, guarantee fair algorithms, and contribute to social security schemes.
 Just Transition for Climate and Energy: As the world moves towards green energy, Zimbabwean workers in coal, mining, agriculture, and manufacturing must not pay the price of climate adaptation with their livelihoods. We demand a Just Transition that invests in green jobs, worker retraining, and sustainable
industrialization.
 Skills Modernization: We demand state and employer-funded continuous learning programs to equip young workers with the technological and technical competencies required in the modern global economy.
To the Young Workers of Zimbabwe: Democracy is not merely dropping a ballot into a box every five years; it is the daily exercise of voice, dignity, and power on the shop floor, in the vending zone, and on the digital platform. You are not just the future of the ZCTU; you are its immediate strength.
 Organize every workplace, every gig platform, and every informal cluster!
 Demand living wages, occupational safety, and democratic representation!
 Rebuild a united, independent, and fearless labour movement!
When young workers organize, they do not just secure a job—they defend democracy itself.

Finally, for trade unions, the strategic shift towards attaining decent work should be should be from negotiating only wages to negotiating the entire decent-work package. Unions can enforce decent-work standards through a combination of collective bargaining, workplace monitoring, legal enforcement, worker organisation and social dialogue. The key is to move from simply responding to violations after they occur to building systems that prevent violations and make employers accountable.
The most effective approach is to create a chain: Organise → Educate → Monitor→ Negotiate → Document → Enforce → Escalate → Reform policy.

That is how unions may move from defending workers one dispute at a time to creating a culture where employers and government would know that decent-work standards will actually be monitored and enforced.

I thank you.

SHINGA MUSHANDI SHINGA, QINA SISEBENZI QINA

17/10/2026

14/10/2026

We mourn a great trade unionist.

06/10/2026

https://www.theworker.co.zw/news/ffawuz-congress-sets-new-labour-agenda-food-industry-workers

28/09/2026

Zimbabwe Congress of Trade Unions (ZCTU) 8th Women delegate conference in pictures

28/09/2026

The just ended Zimbabwe Congress of Trade Unions (ZCTU) 8th Women's Committee Delegate Conference ushered in a new leadership (2026-2031). Chairperson: Shungu Mupfuranhehwe (ZARWU), Vice Chairperson: Susan Sapeta, Secretary (CWU); Thandiwe Mupane (CLAWUZ), Vice Secretary; Elizabeth Masango (ZUCHWU) and Treasure: Josephine Makuwa (CWUZ)