Officials of the Zimbabwe Congress of Trade Unions said Monday that the union plans to proceed with the general strike it has called for Tuesday and Wednesday, warning members and other workers not to heed announcements saying the strike was off.
Union officials charged that authorities had paid "disgruntled" individuals to distribute fliers telling workers to ignore the ZCTU stayaway call because negotiations in the so-called Tripartite Forum involving labor, business and government were continuing.
The union confederation has called the general strike - which it terms a "stayaway" to protest the collapse of the economy and of the living standards of workers with inflation running at a cumulative annual rate of more than 1,700%.
The industrial action has the support of member organizations of the Save Zimbabwe Campaign and the Congress of South African Trade Unions, or Cosatu.
ZCTU Secretary General Wellington Chibebe told reporter Jonga Kandemiiri of VOA's Studio 7 for Zimbabwe that he expects widespread participation in the action.