The Zimbabwean Worker

May Day (May, 1)

"Celebrated by workers around the world as an expression of their international solidarity and shared political aspirations for freedom."

Today I honour all Zimbabwean workers in the country and those who chose to migrate out of the country in search of better socio-economic and political enviroments.

With increasing emphasis towards financial bottom lines, social justice, public trust, civic responsibilities and the criteria for success of individual life in this world and in hereafter are frequently put a side. Performance, quality and customer satisfaction are viewed in terms of their impact to financial and economic outcomes only. This has created an imbalance in the life of the working classes versus the minority wealthy elite classes resulting in the growing gap between rich and poor.

Some of it is caused by ignoring personal, family and social aspects and increasing emphasis towards financial bottom lines is the reason there exists this imbalance in the life of the workers at all levels. The result is stress in life, conflicts in family, social distortion, deteriorating performance and low productivity. To overcome this, work-life balance is necessary which is not a recommendation but a Divine order.

The recent xenophobic attacks in South Africa and the growing calls manifesting themselves through the politicisation of migration in more developed countres is a clear sign of the challenges being faced by workers across the world who have been betrayed by misgovernance and growing greed fueled by an unmoderated capitalist pyramid system that consistantly rewards the most wealthy most.
The worst victims of this severe decline of opportunity are low-wage workers themselves. To earn one's own way in order to meet a decent living standard, afford children, and share in community life is essential to one's sense of self-worth. To know the satisfaction of employment, its challenges and learning experiences, and the personal development that comes with mastering jobs is also one of life's basic skills.

Such dependency and removal from the economic mainstream means a loss of integration with society, which is another basic need for a socially progressive environment.This damages the rest of society as the idleness, deprivations and disaffection of the victims leads to health problems, violent behaviour and crime rates. counter-cultures spring up that put violence above the law, corruption over hard work, family over career, being over doing. this simultaneously means tax payers must pay for tax revenues not generated, the health bills not paid and the outlays for damage control without helping solve the underlying problem.

The roots of the malfunctions we see in Zimbabwe are structural and not just monetary.The only way forward would be to have a sweeping political bargain to fix the malfunction. The scale the problem has attained to date makes feasible a radical solution in place of the diffuse and marginal reforms (constitutional) that, correctly or not, have seemed largely ineffectual so far.

It's not yet Uhuru fellow citizens ony we together can change our own enviroments.

"Tisu vanhu vacho! Yithi abantu bakhona! We are the people!"