China, Zimbabwe strengthen ties: Imperilling African workers?

A Zimbabwean delegation met with a senior Chinese Communist Party (CPC) leader today to further their cooperation, according to China's state-owned Xinhua news agency.

Li Changhchun, a Standing Committee member of the CPC's Central Committee Politburo, met with Simon Khaya Moyo, who led the southern African delegation. Moyo is the national chairman of the Zimbabwe African National Union-Patriotic Front (Zanu-PF).

In May 2010, the CPC and Zanu-PF signed a political and economic treaty entitled a Memorandum of Understanding.

The two political parties pledged to promote the treaty's objectives, which included strong political and economic cooperation.

Zimbabwean union leaders have long blamed strong ties between Beijing and Harare for the inability of Zimbabwean workers to keep Chinese companies and employers operating in their country accountable to local laws.

Zimbabwean employees have long accused Chinese employers of underpayment, unsafe labor conditions and physical abuse.

Late last year, unions wrote a letter to Zimbabwean President Robert Mugabe, asking that he ensure that Chinese companies are not above the law in legal disputes with their workers.

Harare said that it would investigate the claims, but no substantive move was made to bring the accused employers to justice.

In May of this year, indigenous Zimbabwean workers at Shanxi Corporation, a Chinese construction company in Harare, came forward accusing their bosses of overcharging for company accommodations and not providing the protective clothing necessary for construction work.