COSATU welcomes the historic awarding of the Arthur Svensson International Award to comrade Wellington Chibebe, the Secretary General of ZCTU (Zimbabwe Congress of Trade Unions) who is the first recipient of this award.
As COSATU we have come to know and work with Comrade Chibebe on issues of democracy and human rights violations in Zimbabwe, as well as issues of the international trade union movement, global justice and workers rights. We know from our own experience his courage, passion and firmness of principle.
We believe the African trade union movement in particular and the global trade union movement in general have an asset in him and we are yet to see more of his outstanding contributions as we intensify our struggle for justice.
While we acknowledge that there are many people who make sacrifices and risk their lives in conducting their union activities and defending workers and the poor, Comrade Chibebe is one of those comrades whose massive contributions could not be ignored.
We congratulate the Norwegian National Trade union Industri Energi for taking the initiative to establish an award for trade union rights. We further thank and congratulate the Jury members for their historic decision to recognise the role played by unionists in Africa and the difficulties they experience.
We are inspired by the action taken to award Comrade Chibebe and invite others to emulate his example.
Issued by Congress of South African Trade Unions (COSATU).
