OWN CORRESPONDENT, Harare | Wednesday 11.00am.
ZIMBABWE was hit hard on Wednesday by a second anti-government national strike as trade unionists pressed their demands for pay rises, price cuts and an end to corruption.
Factories and building sites fell silent across the country, with most shops and banks also closed, as trade unionists proved for a second time in eight days that they can close the country down at will.
The stayaway brought an unprecented alliance between employers and workers, with the Zimbabwe Congress of Trade Unions and the Institute of Directors both blaming President Robert Mugabe’s government for the country’s economic decline.
Both organisations also criticised the government’s costly intervention in the conflict in the Democratic Republic of Congo, saying that Zimbabwe cannot afford a foreign war while people are suffering economic hardships at home.
The major cities of Harare, Bulawayo and Mutare were all reported quiet early on Wednesday, with troops patrolling potential trouble spots. Violence erupted in Mutare during the first strike last Wednesday, when police shot dead one man and wounded several others. — AFP
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