Global Labor and Production: Nick Shields. December 5th, 2008. 3:45 pm.
70 Union members were arrested at a protest to force the central bank to scrap the limit on amounts of cash people can withdraw. Among the arrested was labor secretary general Wellington Chibebe. He was later arrested to attend a meeting with the central bank governor concerning the cash crisis. The government's violent reaction to protests raises questions about president Robert Mugabe and his ruling party's commitment to a power sharing agreement with the opposition. As union leaders were arrested more police with batons began to charge the workers marching on the central bank offices. 5 workers had to receive treatment after they were severely injured. Police also dispersed around 100 doctors and nurses who had marched on the ministry of health building. Health workers have been on a lengthy strike due to low wages and poor working conditions. They also are trying to pressure the government to save the public health sector from collapse.
It is obviously unacceptable when people are beaten and stopped from peacefully protesting. With that said the site that this article comes from is pro-union, so there might be a bias. However, I still think it is terrible that unarmed workers were beaten so severely that they had to receive hospital treatment. I also think that if health care workers are protesting and are on strike then there must be something wrong. Anybody in the health care industry got into that industry because they like helping people. So there has to be some sort of injustice going on against them for them not to be helping sick people anymore. The whole country is in turmoil which is obviously taking a toll on the labor market in the area.
http://www.zimonline.co.za/Article.aspx?ArticleId=3985
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