By Staff Reporter

The International Trade Union Confederation (ITUC) has released the its 13th edition of the global rights index, the only comprehensive, global annual survey of the violation of workers’ rights and has placed Zimbabwe on the “Watchlist”.

The ‘Watchlist’ is the second tier of the worst violators, following the 10 worst countries for workers, and in 2026 they are: Argentina, Belarus, Ecuador, Egypt, Eswatini, Myanmar, Nigeria, Panama, Tunisia, and Türkiye.

Placed among seven countries, Guinea-Bissau, Israel, Liberia, Moldova, the Philippines and the United States, following a measurable increase in violations, Zimbabwe has seen a rollback of workers’ rights, with decline outpacing progress in the past years.

The ITUC noted that arbitrary arrests and detentions of trade unionists were reported in Zimbabwe as well as in Angola, the Democratic Republic of the Congo.

“Zimbabwe has ranked in the fifth tier – no guarantee of rights – since the Index began in 2014. The ruling Zimbabwe African National Union – Patriotic Front (ZANU-PF) is seeking to delay the 2028 elections by increasing presidential and parliamentary term limits. As workers and unions face continued state harassment and repression, Zimbabwe’s rating is at further risk. The authorities have abused legal powers to suppress collective action and dissent, for example, through the use of digital surveillance laws. Union leaders from the education sector were arrested during strikes and protests for better working conditions and fair wages. The government also changed the law in 2025 to enable ministers to label advocacy-based unions as “political” or “high risk”, which can lead to their deregistration and loss of access to international funding,” reads the 2026 report.

Countries are rated in clusters from 1-5+ depending on their compliance with collective labour rights. There are five ratings, with 1 being the best rating and 5+ the worst rating a country could get.

Countries with a rating of 5 are the worst countries in the world to work in. While the legislation may spell out certain rights, workers have effectively no access to these rights and are therefore exposed to autocratic regimes and unfair labour practices.

While Zimbabwe is in the red zone, neighbouring Botswana’s ratings have improved following reforms implemented by its new government.

“In 2025, under reforms led by President Duma Boko, Botswana’s social democratic government brought its labour laws into line with ILO Convention No. 87 – ratified by 158 countries – which enshrines freedom of association and the right to organise. Botswana’s rating improved to 3 from 4, its strongest ranking since 2016, signalling a change from the systematic violation of rights to regular violations of rights. The Employment and Labour Relations Bill repealed the long-criticised Trade Disputes Act and the Trade Unions and Employers Organizations Act. It establishes a robust social dialogue structure with independent resolution, ensures orderly collective bargaining, and safeguards the registration of unions. It enshrines the right to freedom of association, union autonomy, and the freedom of expression, and protects workers from anti-union discrimination,” reads the survey.