{"id":2320,"date":"2026-06-04T08:01:09","date_gmt":"2026-06-04T08:01:09","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/thewasupost.co.zw\/?p=2320"},"modified":"2026-06-05T08:04:35","modified_gmt":"2026-06-05T08:04:35","slug":"zctu-to-commemorate-kamandama-mine-disaster-renew-call-for-safer-workplaces","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/thewasupost.co.zw\/index.php\/2026\/06\/04\/zctu-to-commemorate-kamandama-mine-disaster-renew-call-for-safer-workplaces\/","title":{"rendered":"ZCTU to Commemorate Kamandama Mine Disaster, Renew Call for Safer Workplaces"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

By Fanuel Chinowaita<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

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MUTARE, June 4, 2026<\/strong> \u2013 The Zimbabwe Congress of Trade Unions (ZCTU) will on June 6 commemorate the 54th anniversary of the Hwange Kamandama Mine disaster, honouring the 427 mine workers who lost their lives in one of Zimbabwe’s worst industrial tragedies while renewing calls for safer workplaces across the country.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The commemorations will be held simultaneously in six regions under the theme, “Zero Harm through Collective Action: Safe Work Today, Safe Work Tomorrow.”<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In an invitation to stakeholders, ZCTU Secretary-General Tryovhu Marimo said the Eastern Region commemorations would be held at the ZCTU offices in Mutare from 8:30am to 1:00pm.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

“This is an annual event during which we remember the 427 miners who perished in the No. 2 Kamandama Mine disaster in Hwange on 6 June 1972. There will also be an opportunity for organisations to deliver solidarity messages,” said Marimo.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Acting Secretary-General R. Dzimiri said the labour body continues to commemorate June 6 in honour of the miners who died in the disaster and workers affected by occupational injuries and illnesses.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

“The commemorations are done in respect of the 427 mine workers who perished in Hwange on the 6th of June 1972. As the trade union we have taken it upon ourselves to commemorate this day since time immemorial,” said Dzimiri.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

He said the occasion also serves as a platform to advocate for improved occupational safety and health standards.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

“We take this day to honour and respect those workers who have been injured, died and who are suffering from occupational related stress and other vices. We also take this day to consolidate our demands to the employers and government to create an injury free workplace environment that promotes the physical, mental and social well-being of workers,” he said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The commemorations will be held at the following venues:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Western Region (Bulawayo) \u2013 ZCTU Boardroom, June 6.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Eastern Region (Mutare) \u2013 ZCTU Boardroom, June 6.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

North Eastern Region (Harare) \u2013 ZCTU Head Office, June 6.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Central Region (Gweru) \u2013 Venue to be advised, June 6.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Southern Region (Masvingo) \u2013 ZCTU Boardroom, June 13.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Northern Region (Chinhoyi) \u2013 Regional Office, June 13.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Dzimiri said the labour movement uses the annual commemorations not only to remember the victims of the Kamandama disaster but also to push for workplaces that protect workers’ physical, mental and social well-being.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The Kamandama disaster occurred on June 6, 1972, when an underground explosion at Hwange Colliery’s No. 2 Mine killed 427 miners, making it one of the deadliest mining accidents in Zimbabwe’s history.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Representatives from trade unions, employers, government departments, civil society organisations and other stakeholders are expected to attend the commemorations and deliver solidarity messages as the country reflects on workplace safety and the protection of workers’ rights<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

By Fanuel Chinowaita MUTARE, June 4, 2026 \u2013 The Zimbabwe Congress of Trade Unions (ZCTU) will on June 6 commemorate the 54th anniversary of the Hwange Kamandama Mine disaster, honouring the 427 mine workers who lost their lives in one of Zimbabwe’s worst industrial tragedies while renewing calls for safer workplaces across the country. The…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":true,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2}},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-2320","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-uncategorized"],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/thewasupost.co.zw\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2320","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/thewasupost.co.zw\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/thewasupost.co.zw\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/thewasupost.co.zw\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/thewasupost.co.zw\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2320"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/thewasupost.co.zw\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2320\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":2323,"href":"https:\/\/thewasupost.co.zw\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2320\/revisions\/2323"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/thewasupost.co.zw\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2320"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/thewasupost.co.zw\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2320"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/thewasupost.co.zw\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2320"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}