Daniel Chigunwe Mash Central Correspondent
LABOUR unions in the agriculture sector have called for the improvement of working conditions of farm workers.

In an interview, General Agriculture Plantation Workers Union of Zimbabwe deputy secretary general, Mr Austin Muswere, said political willingness was the key factor towards addressing farm workers’ labour issues.

“Labour issues are embedded within struggles that have a long documented history,” he said. “It remains a struggle to try to make the two parties (employer and employee) come together and as a union we have to find the strategies to resolve the issues that are there.

“The major challenge is that we have perennial problems in the agriculture industry despite it forming the most productive basis of the economy. It remains the industry with the lowest conditions of work and conditions of living for workers.

“We also seek for political willingness to allow for the liberalisation of the conditions of work for farm employees.”

Progressive Agriculture and Allied Industries Workers Union of Zimbabwe, president Mr Collins Chapasuka Kasiya, said labour issues were a major setback and impediment to national economic growth as corrupt senior politicians had been fingered in the disruption of farming activities that left thousands unemployed.

“Mash Central labour market declined to 30 percent due to corruption, abuse of office and powers by senior politicians as several illegal farm takeovers were perpetrated in numerous farms which have contributed to thousands of workers being left jobless,” he said.