THE POLITICAL CONTEXT
5.0 CONCLUSION
funded and has a dedicated pennanent secretariat could ideally have played the monitoring role/think tank of the TNF through its researches. It has the human resources capacity and necessary funding and has chapters in major cities of the country.
Thus, that partners should negotiate is beyond doubt. However, the one-size-fit-all paradigm does not work. Given the political specificities of Zimbabwe, the servants of administration, of law and order have all rallied on the side ofthe government paralysing civic groups and crowding them out for democratic and political space.
For workers and unions there may be need find alternatives steeped in the decent work and decent pay agenda. The bottom up approach has failed insofaras there is very little of a bottom to talk about. The choice for the unions is either to seek confrontation or dialogue. With increased contestation for donor funding, civic groups have profited from the magnanimity of international donors, who have shown a growing appetite to appropriate the project in pursuit of their own agendas including those well bankrolled NGOs. This group represents either the parasitic left or right depending on the activist's persuasion. Because of their poverty, trade unions and NGOs may tend to drive the donor agenda in order to access resources, thus may lead to failure to execute their mandates and respond to the growing needs of their constituencies. Terje as cited in Gaidzwana (2001) notes that the NGOs in Norway have worked with state rather than against it and increasing its responsibility rather supplanting it with NGOs. Gaidzanwa (2001) notes that since many NGOs are specific in their foci, the state remains the only entity that can take a broader and inclusive perspective in many countries ofSouthern Africa.
Firstly, a tool through which social partners can engage each other. Secondly, it provides some space for hope even to the victims (general public) of the apparent political stalemate. Thirdly, although social dialogue, in a sense, is probably the only artefact we have for articulating the rights of the workers and non-workers, the formal and informal sectors, the students and the aged - as they all stand to benefit from the results of the whole social dialogue enterprise - it needs to be nurtured, institutionalised and internalised by all parties concerned because it has the power to influence policy at the highest level. Thus, to the extent that social dialogue cannot be imposed by law, it could only be achieved as result of the voluntary and persistent efforts of [all] parties.
There is the need and scope to institutionalise the mechanisms of conflict resolution within the civic movement, between government and business, between government and lahour, between government and civil society, within all parties themselves - intra party, intra institution, inter-party and so forth. There is a general dearth of dialogue and inter- change of ideas among citizens thereby creating a dialogue problematic. Itis here that the ILO has a big role to play in terms of backstopping and technical advice without appropriating the project and interfering in the processes. The ILO must keep the debate alive for elaboration of the nature, content, scope and issues pertaining to the implementation of social dialogue in Zimbabwe. This provides ample ground to learn new nuances and scales pertaining to social dialogue.
The bottom line is, if social dialogue is not sustained, the crisis facing the country will deepen further to the detriment of all the social partners and the generality of the population. There is advantage in conferring instead of continuing with attritional socio- economic wrestling and a prolonged and doubtful contest characterised by continuities and discontinuities of dialogue. This, indeed, is a process of continual learning, however taking place against a backdrop of distinct and conflicting ideological backgrounds, which appear diametrically opposed in principle. The basic problem of harmonising the interests, rights, duties of labour, business, government and the general public have permeated generations hence are not new but coming in a different setting and different degree of urgency. Chamberlain and Kuhn (1965) observe that collective bargaining, is
distinguishable by 'its systemisation, its continuity, and its acceptance'. So should be social dialogue in the interest of progress in Zimbabwe.
Shall we lose faith in social dialogue? While the answer is NO, by institutionalising social dialogue, some have arrived at the conclusion that social dialogue is 'over- empowering' in that it cripples government to function. Thus, in the final analysis parties must behave like good citizens, lest government resorts to wage and price controls, including strike controls and further regulation. For government must govern with the mandate of the people. It has a big role to play in industrial relations either by its action or apparent inaction. Dialogue must be pursued for practical reasons and this is consistent with ILO Convention 144, Tripartite Consultations (1976) recommendation No. 152 that the Government of Zimbabwe ratified as far back as 1989. Thus, all TNF deadlocks should be referred to parliament for dialogue to be sustained and to resolve the current stalemate. Refuting Thomas Hobbes' words that human life is 'solitary, poor, nasty, brutish and short,' that should not be the case with the generality of Zimbabweans.
People should be the centre of gravity for TNF processes as they expect prosperity from the TNF process including the betterment of people's living standards, job creation, poverty alleviation as well as the preservation of national sovereignty. Quoting Ricardo Hausman (in Richard Peet 2003:216), 'I fully participated in the hope so I'm fully a participant in the disappointment.' I, therefore, fully share the same sentiment.
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