The Zimbabwe Congress of Trade Unions (ZCTU) has predicted more jobs losses emanating from the indefinite lockdown imposed by the government to curb the spread of the novel coronavirus.
ZCTU secretary-general Japhet Moyo said he does not see all workers coming back when the lockdown is lifted. He said:
It will be a disaster when everything settles. Obviously, employers have realised that probably they need little space and that there are other people who may not be needed when things normalise.
Employers will assess how each employee contributed during the lockdown and when things were down, they will ask, do we need them back? We don’t see everyone coming back.
Before the coronavirus sent global economies into a tailspin, Zimbabwe was already experiencing a reported unemployment rate of over 90% and a decade with shortages of fuel, electricity, cash and medicines.
The country has been on lockdown since March 30, though the restrictions were eased after a month to allow some economic activities to resume.