US embassy cable - 02HARARE2315

C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 03 HARARE 002315 
 
SIPDIS 
 
NSC FOR SENIOR AFRICA DIRECTOR JENDAYI FRAZER 
LONDON FOR CGURNEY 
NAIROBI FOR PFLAUMER 
PARIS FOR NEARY 
 
E.O. 12958: DECL: 10/20/2012 
TAGS: ELAB, PHUM, PGOV, ZI 
SUBJECT: ZIMBABWE TEACHERS' STRIKE: GOZ RIDING ROUGHSHOD 
OVER WORKER DISCONTENT 
 
REF: HARARE 2308 
 
Classified By: Laboff Karen Bel for reasons 1.5 (b) and (d). 
 
1. (U)  Summary:  In events which have been monitored 
world-wide, the GOZ has cracked down on striking members of 
the Progressive Teachers, Union of Zimbabwe (PTUZ) with 
characteristic harshness.  After GOZ responses which included 
PTUZ office raids, dubious arrests of PTUZ members, assault, 
threats and harassment of the PTUZ leader Raymond Majongwe,s 
family, and detention of Majongwe with subsequent allegations 
of torture while in police custody, the GOZ announced that 
all striking teachers were summarily fired.  In a new 
development, Majongwe was re-arrested on October 16, possibly 
tortured, and "lost" in the system for several days before 
his scheduled October 21 bail hearing.  End summary. 
 
---------------- 
Teachers' Strike 
---------------- 
 
2. (U)  The teachers' strike -- which began as a "go-slow" 
action on September 6 -- developed into a full-fledged strike 
on October 8.  The strike was called by PTUZ, which has a 
constituency of approximately 15,000 members, rather than the 
ZANU-PF-allied Zimbabwe Teachers, Association (ZIMTA), which 
claims 55,000 members.  PTUZ has been much more 
confrontational than ZIMTA in addressing teachers, 
grievances over the past year.  The Secretary General of 
ZIMTA has stated that his organization is involved in 
"dialogue" with the GOZ regarding pay raises, and has 
formally distanced his organization from the strike. 
However, according to the AFL-CIO Solidarity Center, the PTUZ 
hopes for widespread support for the strike by the rank and 
file membership of ZIMTA beginning this week.  Chief among 
the teachers, complaints are low salary and poor working 
conditions.  Although teachers are considered to be civil 
servants providing "essential services" (and thus precluded 
from engaging in a strike) along with police, medical 
personnel, and armed forces, their remuneration lags far 
behind that of their supposed peers.  Additionally, teachers 
have been subjected to relentless assault and harassment from 
both war vets and youth militia groups, in some cases fleeing 
their rural schools in terror, whenever they are suspected of 
sympathizing with the opposition MDC party. 
 
3. (U)  The strike has been described by labor groups as a 
"matter of survival."  Newly-qualified teachers earn Zim 
$25,000 per month after a three-year training course 
(approximately US $26.31 at current parallel exchange rates), 
while newly-qualified nurses earn Zim $60,000 per month 
(approximately US $63.15).  New police constables earn 
approximately Zim $30,000 per month (US $31.57) after a 
one-year training course, and new army privates earns 
slightly more just by virtue of passing the physical. 
Members of the uniformed forces were awarded a 165% increase 
in salary during the last year, and doctors and nurses have 
been awarded "significant" increases in their pay packages 
after a strike in July/August, while teachers were granted a 
mere 55% increase in salary last January (with an official 
inflation rate of 139%). 
 
4. (U)  Despite assurances by the GOZ that teachers would be 
awarded "massive" salary increases in January 2003, the PTUZ 
urged all teachers -- whether PTUZ members or not -- to 
participate in the strike by reporting to work and then 
refusing to teach.  The PTUZ estimates that approximately 85% 
of their members have engaged in the work stoppage, along 
with approximately 15% of ZIMTA members, in the face of GOZ 
proclamations that the work action was a failure.  However, 
after several days of striking, the Public Service Commission 
announced on October 15 that 627 teachers had been fired for 
engaging in the strike.  The PTUZ has challenged the 
dismissals, claming that the labor action is legal and that 
the dismissals did not follow procedural steps.  The 
dismissals have earned world-wide condemnation by labor and 
civil society groups, including the International 
Confederation of Free Trade Unions (ICFTU) and AFL-CIO. 
 
--------------------------------------------- 
Arrest and Alleged Torture of Union President 
--------------------------------------------- 
 
5. (U) According to published reports, police arrested the 
PTUZ president and secretary on October 8 and confiscated 
some files and the office keys.  The president and secretary 
were released on the same day, but the secretary was ordered 
to close down the PTUZ office.  Early on the morning of 
October 9, riot police surrounded the home of Raymond 
Majongwe, secretary-general of the PTUZ, who was not present, 
and allegedly beat up Majongwe,s wife and housemaid and 
harassed his 3-year-old and 5-year-old child in an attempt to 
determine Majongwe,s whereabouts.  Majongwe subsequently 
turned himself in to the police later the same morning, and 
was eventually charged under a subsection of the Public Order 
and Security Act (POSA) for "interfering with the rights of 
others" by allegedly threatening teachers and headmasters who 
refused to engage in the strike. 
 
6. (C)  Majongwe detailed a chilling picture to colleagues at 
the Zimbabwe Congress of Trade Unions (ZCTU) (strictly 
protect).  Due to the increased scrutiny of labor groups by 
the GOZ and a resulting distance between the Mission and 
labor groups, this communication was received via the AFL-CIO 
Solidarity Center (strictly protect).  According to 
Majongwe,s account, after he was formally processed by the 
police, he was questioned by several officers for 
approximately two hours, and was eventually told that he 
could leave without being charged.  He stated that as he was 
heading toward the police station exit, he was intercepted 
and "detained" by several men in plain clothes, whom he 
assumed to be Central Intelligence Organization (CIO) 
operatives, who attempted to divert him to another location. 
Majongwe claimed that he had been warned by a police officer 
that he would be killed if he left the police station, and he 
interpreted the attempted diversion as a hostile move. 
According to Majongwe, his understanding was that the police 
would be able to say that he had been released and they had 
no knowledge of his whereabouts, when in fact he had been 
kidnapped and killed by the CIO.  Majongwe -- who is a very 
large man -- then began to struggle with the plain-clothed 
men and tried to force his way to the exit, dragging his 
assailants with him.  While he did not have much hope of 
escape, he did hope to draw attention to his presence and the 
fact that he was being forcibly detained.  Fortunately for 
Majongwe, a commuter bus was unloading passengers at the 
entrance, and members of the public became witnesses to his 
unequal struggle with his captors.  He stated that several 
people recognized him and began to chant his name, which 
ensured that the public knew that he remained in police 
custody.  He was finally overpowered and moved to another 
section of the police station, where he alleged that he was 
beaten and tortured by the police and CIO for a period of 
over four hours.  On October 10, Majongwe's attorney reported 
that his client was incoherent, could hardly speak or stand, 
and was suffering from suspected internal injuries including 
broken ribs.  Majongwe was released on bail (remand) on 
October 11. 
 
7. (C)  Majongwe also told the ZCTU that the police had 
confiscated from the PTUZ office a document which purportedly 
connected the PTUZ with the USG.  Although there has been no 
direct written contact between the Embassy and the PTUZ, 
there have been communications (possibly including documents) 
between USAID and the PTUZ in relation to allegations of 
assault and abuse of teachers around the March presidential 
elections by war vets, youth militias, and ZANU-PF 
supporters.  Majongwe was certain that such a document would 
be used as an excuse to paint the PTUZ as a group 
"collaborating with the USG for the overthrow of the Mugabe 
regime."  Given the GOZ's increased scrutiny of NGOs 
perceived to be working with opposition elements, this 
document -- if it exists -- could prove problematic. 
 
8. (U)  In a separate development, Majongwe was subsequently 
re-arrested on Wednesday, October 16, after addressing a 
group of teachers at a Harare high school.  Arrested at the 
same time were the PTUZ national coordinator and the PTUZ 
treasurer, who were later released.  Although Majongwe was 
originally detained at Marlborough Police Station, officers 
at that station stated that he had been transferred to Harare 
Central Police Station on Thursday, October 17.  However, the 
Harare Central Police Station would not confirm that Majongwe 
was being held, and authorities clearly stalled in order to 
hold Majongwe over the weekend.  The independent press 
reports that Majongwe was tortured with electric shocks 
applied to his mouth and genitals.  The press also reports 
that the Attorney General declined to press new charges and 
that Majongwe should finally get his bail hearing on October 
21.  Majongwe's medical condition remains compromised due to 
his mistreatment during his previous incarceration, and PTUZ 
treasurer MacDonald Mangauzani is quoted as saying that they 
"fear for his life." 
 
------------------ 
Other Labor Unrest 
------------------ 
9. (U)  Due to widespread economic and industrial problems, 
labor unrest is predicted to increase during the remainder of 
this year.  Lecturers at the University of Zimbabwe are 
similarly engaged in a work stoppage (to be reported septel), 
although the official response has been much lower profile. 
The GOZ remains under constant scrutiny by various 
international labor groups for the deteriorating situation of 
labor unions as well as its response to the teachers' strike. 
 The AFL-CIO reports that a labor delegation -- including 
representatives from SATTUC, COSATU, and OATU -- is scheduled 
to visit Zimbabwe during the next week.  The AFL-CIO is 
disappointed that the delegation is scheduled to meet with 
the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and President Mugabe, in 
addition to the Minister of Labor, as they feel that this 
gives the Mugabe government another opportunity to co-opt the 
dialogue and dilutes the value of the labor-to-labor 
statement of solidarity. 
 
10. (U)  Comment.  One of the more sinister implications of 
the GOZ's handling of the teachers' strike is the coincidence 
of the mandate that all students at teachers' colleges now be 
graduates of the "national service" training such as that 
provided to the youth militias.  Teachers have been a prime 
target for retaliation and harassment by war vets and youth 
militias -- including humiliation, summary dismissal, 
assault, injury, rape, and even murder -- on even the 
faintest suspicion that they might harbor MDC sympathies.  At 
least one commentator has openly speculated that firing the 
striking teachers is paving the way for a new "chimurenga" 
(revolution) in the educational system, whose resolution lies 
in "fast-track" appointment of properly indoctrinated youth 
militia members as full-scale teachers. 
 
11. (U)  Comment continued.  Regardless of the ultimate 
outcome of this particular strike, the labor unrest in the 
teachers' ranks is symptomatic of the deterioration of the 
situation of the average Zimbabwean worker.  Inflation has 
risen to at least 139% (reftel), and the current parallel 
exchange rate stands at 950:1, in stark contrast to the 
official rate of 55:1.  The ZCTU has publicly warned of 
"spontaneous reaction" by workers to the "harsh economic 
climate."  Although this particular strike might not be the 
spark that sets society alight, many observers are watching 
the GOZ to see how it manages to contain a potentially 
explosive situation.  End comment. 
SULLIVAN