The President of the Zimbabwe Congress of Trade Unions (ZCTU), Lovemore Matombo, on Wednesday said he is humbled and honoured after winning an international award, recognising his courage in continuously defending the rights of workers, in the face of arrests, beatings and torture at hands of the police.

Matombo was on Wednesday officially named the winner of the 2009 Courage Award by the International Trade Union Confederation (ITUC) and the International Labour Organisation (ILO) Worker Group. He had been announced as this year’s recipient while in Geneva for the annual ILO conference earlier this year, but was officially honoured during a ceremony this week.

The ZCTU leader has himself been the victim of arrests and beatings by the police, for leading protests over low pay and worsening poverty faced by the majority of the country’s workers, because of inadequate monthly wages. In 2006 he was beaten unconscious and suffered serious head injuries and fractures to his arm during a demonstration that was brutally broken up by police. ZCTU Secretary General Wellington Chibhebhe was also seriously assualted and tortured while in police custody, a charge that police officials denied.

“I am really encouraged and very humbled by the award, recognising the efforts of the ZCTU, after years of fighting and struggling for decent salaries and respect for the workers rights,” Matombo said.

He continued that the award is a ‘significant occasion’ for workers in Zimbabwe, who have struggled for years against rights abuses. He said the international recognition awarded to him and therefore the organisation, is a positive step for the ongoing fight for workers rights.

“We cannot forget that the workers’ struggle is at the heart of the country’s fight for democracy,” Matombo said.

Civic society organisations, in congratulatory messages to Matombo, said on Wednesday the Courage Award he won is “a befitting honour for the bravery of the ZCTU leader in the face of arrests and beatings.”

“Matombo’s bravery and commitment have not gone unnoticed. The citation of the veteran trade unionist came as no surprise as his sacrifices over the years have put him on the map as one of the most resilient advocates for worker’s rights world over,” the Crisis in Zimbabwe Coalition said.

The abuse of the ZCTU leaders and other workers is at the heart of a current investigation by the United Nations affiliated ILO. The ZCTU has since 2002 reported on trade union violations in Zimbabwe to the ILO during annual conferences, which eventually led to the body setting up a commission of inquiry earlier this year. A three member ILO delegation arrived in Zimbabwe last week to start its long-awaited probe into workers rights violations in the country.

A group of witnesses, including the ZCTU leaders and up to 40 activists and workers, have started giving their sworn testimonies about the abuses they suffered at the hands of police over the last several years. The ILO delegtation is also expected to meet with the police, several government ministers, security agencies and labour leaders, before presenting a final report to Geneva next month.

Written By: Alex Bell, SW Radio Africa