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20 June, 2008
The ICEM Women’s Committee adopted a strong action plan on Zimbabwe 19 June, at its annual Women’s Committee meetings, which followed the Global Union Federation’s Executive Committee in Geneva, Switzerland. The action plan, prepared by Angeline Chitambo, an ICEM Vice President, who is President of the Zimbabwe Electricity and Energy Workers’ Union (ZEEWU), presents a six-point plan in which ICEM affiliates can lend assistance to what has become a deteriorating political situation.
ICEM Women's Leaders and Vice Presidents, Evgenia Esenina and Angeline Chtambo
In a statement presenting the plan, the Women’s Committee said: “Though the situation has always been bad in Zimbabwe, we have seen the worst after the 29th March 2008 elections … the violence that was released by the government, mainly in rural areas, affected women mostly, as the bulk of women stay in the rural areas where they work on the land for survival.”
The statement says that many women give in to pressure, and become prostitutes in order to make ends meet. The result is the increasing spread of HIV/AIDS.
The statement adds: “Those who are affected by HIV/AIDS are more vulnerable. Imagine you are the mother, your child dies of AIDS and after all that you have gone through, you cannot bury your child in time because there is no fuel, or the gravediggers are on strike because the city council cannot pay their salaries.”
The statement reports that women in Zimbabwe are prepared to go to the offices of the ruling ZANU PF political offices on 27 June to stand up to their repressive and violent measures, and demand the reconstruction of their country.
The ICEM Women’s Committee is calling on affiliated trade unions to:
Understand what is occurring in Zimbabwe and how it affects workers and the poor; Send a team to get a full understand of the Zimbabwean situation; Mobilise basic food supplies to assist affiliated trade unions inside Zimbabwe; Task neighbouring trade unions in respective countries to assist; Press Zimbabwean embassies in home countries on the situation, and get NGOs and other Global Union Federations to assist; and pressure Zimbabwe’s government to make food commodities available and affordable.
The ICEM will issue a Circular related to the Women's Committee action in the enar future.