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This observation seems to capture what is happening in the labour movement in Zimbabwe. It is believed that for all intents and purposes, trade unionism in the country has become a tool for individuals to gain some measure of political power at the expense of the people they purport to represent. They are failing to provide an outlet for the satisfaction of workers’ needs through their collective nature.

Indeed their relevance should be de-emphasised given the level of exploitation by employers against employees. This is reflected by the increase in strikes in protest against non-payment of salaries, stagnant salaries and disregard for decent working conditions.

In Bulawayo, companies continue to sing the blues throwing thousands of workers onto the streets because of inclement economic conditions. Countrywide millions of workers are living on shoestring budgets and on the brink of starvation because of stagnating wages, declining benefits, growing insecurity on the job, and a sense that the haves are leaving the have-nots further behind. Yes, it must be acknowledged that some of these challenges are beyond the purview of employers, but there is a way that they can still address the needs of workers.

The workers’ situation is worsened by trade unionists who are, arguably, not providing an important function in acting as a buffer against unscrupulous employers. Trade unionists are becoming self-serving, small-time politicians and businesspersons hoping to make it big.

The Zimbabwe Congress of Trade Unions (ZCTU) and Zimbabwe Federation of Trade Unions (ZFTU) seem to have lost their plots since they are not focusing on issues that improve the plight of workers. Their relevance, particularly that of the ZCTU, is diminished by the perception that they are not acting in the best interests of workers.

The ZCTU, the country’s largest worker representative body, is dogged by intensive in-fighting, leaving workers not knowing who to follow. There are two factions in the organisation, one led by Mr Lovemore Matombo, president going into the ZCTU’s elective congress last year, and another led by Mr George Nkiwane, who was “elected” at the congress.

The scuffling has heightened criticism that the ZCTU leaders only seek personal satisfaction that high office guarantees, not the struggle for better earnings and working conditions for workers. The labour union is also accused of being an appendage of MDC-T and has done nothing to prove critics wrong. Divisions within the ZCTU intensified in May this year during the Workers’ Day commemorations when the two warring factions held separate functions.

The organisations must know that people will not support trade unions where the leadership is perceived as representing their own interests and where agreement on issues reflects a bias in favour of the employer, whether private or public.

While some may argue that unions have lost their purpose and do not benefit the workers they purport to represent, the truth is however, that we need trade unions now more than ever in this global economy to step up and advocate for the worker.

For Zimbabwe, the answer to our economic woes is not the destruction of unions but rather their reform to partner with employees, both in the public and private sector.

Unions need to renew their “ailing” partnership with the employees. Unions and employers must work together to grow the competitiveness and profitability of the employers while still ensuring that the employees’ legitimate interests are protected.

The trade unions as part of their representation role must take a far greater part in the activities of all the planning bodies of the workers, in drawing up economic plans and also programmes of production and expenditure of stocks of material supplies for the workers.

Perhaps these can be best understood and achieved when both management and unions contemplate using the “interest-based” approach to negotiations, which emphasises the importance of information, persuasion and co-operation, and where coercion and conflict are viewed as dysfunctional and counter-productive.