The Zimbabwe Congress of Trade Unions (ZCTU) North Eastern Region has launched its Constitutional Rights awareness campaign focusing on Labour, Gender and Women’s Rights aimed at making its membership at all levels conversant with their constitutional rights.

Speaking at the launch, which coincided with the region’s belated commemorations to mark International Women’s Day, North Eastern Region Chairperson, Jokoniah Mawopa, said the first phase of the programme would focus on the three areas as they resonated with the ZCTU’s aims and objectives.

“This campaign that I am standing here to launch today will cover Labour Rights as provided for in Section 65, Gender Rights as provided for in Section 17 and Women’s Rights as provided for in Section 80 of the Constitution of Zimbabwe,” he said.

Mawopa said the campaign would see information on these rights disseminated to workers at the shop-floor level so that they got know their rights as enshrined in the supreme law of the land.

Section 65 provides every worker the right to fair and safe labour practices and standards, the right to a fair and reasonable wage and the right to form and join a workers’ union of their own choice among others.

Section 17, among other rights, gives the state an obligation to promote full gender balance in the country and to promote the full participation of women in all spheres on the basis of equality with their male counterparts.

The constitutional provision on the rights of women, Mawopa said, was a major achievement in the history of Zimbabwe as it gave women full and equal dignity of the person with men, including equal opportunities in political, economic and social activities.

He said the campaign would empower a lot of female workers as it will help equip them with the knowledge and understanding of their rights at the workplace and in society.