
Issue No 59		23 June 2000

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International

Union Observers Barred from Zimbabwe Poll

Extracted from Business Day

Five observers from the Congress of SA Trade Unions (Cosatu) and 19 other South Africans aligned to Zimbabwe's Catholic Commission for Peace and Justice are among 233 observers barred by the Zimbabwean government from monitoring the parliamentary elections.

The state-owned Herald newspaper said another 40 observers from the newly formed Electoral Commission Forum of Southern African Development Community countries were also denied accreditation.

The South Africans join 17 Kenyan and Nigerian observers who were barred earlier this week and 40 others from the United States' National Democratic Institution and the International Republican Institute.

Chairman of the Electoral Directorate, Mariyawanda Nzuwa, said the Zimbabwean authorities had barred all representatives of non-governmental organisations (NGOs) from observing the elections.

However, members of the NGOs were free to move around the country "but will not be accorded the rights and privilege of observers". The Catholic group will meet members of the South African parliamentary observer team which was accredited last week.

Cosatu spokesman Siphiwe Mgcina said in Johannesburg he could not comment on the matter until he received confirmation from the delegation.

Meanwhile, the credibility of Zimbabwe's forthcoming parliamentary elections this weekend took another knock when President Robert Mugabe's government ordered that only one election monitor would be allowed to oversee balloting at each of the 4 000 polling stations around the country.

Election monitors are appointed by the Elections Supervisory Commission (ESC) and are allowed inside polling stations throughout the voting process.

The ESC has trained 20 700 people to be able to place two monitors inside the polling station, two more outside and a further two as relief. - Sapa and I-Net Bridge.

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  Issue 59 contents

Interview: Holding the Line
Diwan Shankar, Assistant National Secretary of the Fiji TUC, is in Australia to consolidate support for his members and plead for ongoing bans.

Technology: D-Day for VC?
NSW Labor Council secretary Michael Costa explains the motivations behind the new Get on Board computer-internet venture.

Legal: Knock, Knock - Who's There?
When the nine year old son of CFMEU construction division state secretary Andrew Ferguson recently responded to a Saturday door knock, it was neither a friend nor a Jehovah's Witness.

Unions: Are You a Good Listener ?
Mark Hearn goes inside the Energy Australia call centre to find a workplace where there is a code for evrything - even trips to the toilet.

International: Union Observers Barred from Zimbabwe Poll
Five observers from the Congress of SA Trade Unions (Cosatu) and 19 other South Africans aligned to Zimbabwe's Catholic Commission for Peace and Justice are among 233 observers barred by the Zimbabwean government from monitoring the parliamentary elections.

History: Community, Class, and Comparison
Despite its occasional romantic tendencies, new labour scholarship is mapping collective action within working class communities.

Satire: Rural Poor Return to Labor
Thrilled by the great new branding, the new Country Labor party has caused scenes of great rejoicing in the country.

Review: The Wicked Webs We Weave
LaborNet web-meastro Paul Howes trawls the web for some hot sites for all you political junkies.

» STOP PRESS: Get on Board Moves Virtual

» Orange at Risk - Call for City's Help

» Unions to Get Equity in New Computer Deal

» Aussie Competition Laws Protect Fijian Terrorists

» Union Rat Sinks Industrial Laws

» Olympic Rail Deal Struck for Games Period

» GST Fears for Union Delegates

» No Cigars for Casino High Rollers

» Frustration Boils Over Olympics Blowout

» Support for Campaign Against TAFE Cuts

» Private Sector Health Workers Seek Pay Equity

» Bosses Hoist on Own Petard

» Construction Industry Assists East Timor Training

» AFL-CIO Leader to Address Congress

» Full ACTU Congress Coverage on LaborNet

» The Soapbox

» The Locker Room

» Trades Hall

» Tool Shed

» Freudian Slip

» Volunteers in Policing

» Tax Farce

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