Reflections

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محتوى الصفحة: Home > مجلة النقل الدولي "Transport International" > Issue 13 October 2003 > Reflections: Interview with Cecilia Kuyele

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Interview with Cecilia Kuyele from National Airways Workers' Union in Zimbabwe (NAWU)

Cecilia is the only woman on the national executive committee of her union and is a contact person for the ITF Women's Network. She works as a Purchasing Officer in National Handling Services, a subsidiary of Air Zimbabwe.

Air Zimbabwe has undergone substantial restructuring. Could you explain the changes?
Air Zimbabwe offered early retirement and retrenchment packages in 1997. The company made these packages very attractive for workers by also including travel benefits. They wanted to streamline the staff in order to cut costs. Although the company is state owned, it is commercialised which means that it is profit driven. Originally there were plans to privatise. Certain activities have been outsourced such as accounting, ticketing and reservations, and ground handling.

How have these changes affected workers and the union?
Workers in the subsidiary companies feel they have benefited. They are getting higher wages and have better grades. Workers are still joining the union. What has been your experience of organising women workers?

In ground handling, 75 per cent of women workers are in the union. Overall, women are not strong in the union. They are mainly flight attendants who work shifts. It is difficult to get hold of them at the same time. But we are starting to groom women and involve them in inter-union education workshops. Our aim is to build women's structures.

What strategies have you used to organise women?
We have contact people in different shifts. We use them to circulate information. We have also tried to negotiate with management where we see discrimination against women. For example, flight attendants are being grounded because of their weight and age. They then do work for which they are not trained. So the company still focuses on what women look like! Management has tried to stop airport workers from joining unions. The Civil Aviation Authority is privatised, so workers are not in unions as they fear victimisation.

How has the political situation in Zimbabwe impacted on unions?
Some trade unionists hold positions in both unions and the political opposition. This creates a conflict of interests. Leaders are also divided between different political parties. This means that often the interests of workers are not being addressed. Unions need to look at the common needs of workers irrespective of their political beliefs.

On a daily basis, how does the political situation affect workers?
Inflation is high and many workers have been retrenched. There is no fuel and spare parts. So transport workers are affected directly. There is ongoing harassment of the unions. There is also disunity between workers who belong to different political groups. Life is completely polarised. Unions need to focus on the common issues. For example, how are we going to respond to inflation?

الصفحة الرئيسية للأقسام:
Issue 13 October 2003

نسخة الرسومات الكاملة

إمكانية الدخول | مساعدة الموقع | خريطة الموقع

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