The threat of spreading strikes in Zimbabwe could undermine a six-month-old unity government that has brought rare hope, but has failed to win vital funding from donors who demand faster political and economic reform. A pay strike by doctors this week is the first major sign of local discontent with the government formed in February between President Robert Mugabe and old rival Morgan Tsvangirai. Now teachers say they are getting ready to strike too. Any worsening could strengthen those on both sides who feel the alliance is ultimately doomed and cannot rescue Zimbabwe from the decade of decline that Mugabe's foes blame on his rule and he says is due to Western sanctions targeting him. “This is new terrain for the unity government and it just shows the urgent need for foreign financial assistance. If the strikes are sustained it's certainly a blow to any prospects of recovery,” John Robertson, a consultant economist said. Demanding more money, state doctors walked out of hospitals that were just getting back on their feet after a cholera outbreak that killed 5,000 people at the turn of the year. Teachers have threatened to strike and a union official said on Thursday they would meet soon to decide on whether to embark on industrial action when schools open next month. “The honeymoon for the government seems to be over and we are likely to see more of those strikes in the public sector,” said political science lecturer Eldred Masunungure. Reopening schools and hospitals had been among the greatest achievements of the government, which has also brought goods back into shops and a return of price stability by abandoning a worthless local currency that led to hyperinflation. To satisfy workers whose goodwill has run out, however, the government needs money - exactly what it does not have. Official data shows monthly revenues more than doubling since February to $70 million, but the government says it cannot afford the wage increases demanded by more than 80,000 state employees, most of whom earn around $150 a month. Doctors, who get around $170, seek $1,000 and $500 in allowances. Teachers want a $460 minimum wage. Looking over the border, Zimbabweans have seen South African workers get pay rises with strikes and threats. The same rules do not apply in Zimbabwe. The government says it needs $8.3 billion for reconstruction, but has failed to win direct support from Western donors despite the best efforts of Tsvangirai, long feted in the West for standing up to Mugabe. Although complaints of detentions and harassment continue from Mugabe's opponents and the small remaining community of white farmers, the unity government has functioned better than many believed possible. In a sign of Tsvangirai's acceptance by the old elite, he this week won the salute of the top brass at a military ceremony - something they had sworn they would never do. There has been some support from regional states, which fear the consequences of total collapse in Zimbabwe. The crisis has already sent at least 3 million people - or a quarter of the population - fleeing in search of work. But Western donors say they must have more evidence of political, social and economic reform before providing money. When pressed during a visit to South Africa, however, US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, gave no specific demands - fuelling suspicions of some in Mugabe's camp that all the West wants is to see him go after nearly three decades in power. The strikes could divide the government by giving hardliners in Mugabe's ZANU-PF the argument that Tsvangirai's Movement for Democratic Change (MDC) has failed to ease economic hardships despite its promises to secure foreign aid. “But on the other hand the MDC may say things are not moving because of intransigence on the part of ZANU-PF which is blocking some key reforms,” John Makumbe, a political analyst and long time Mugabe critic said. The largest trade union, the Zimbabwe Congress of Trade Unions, is an ally of Tsvangirai's party but that has not stopped it threatening a general mobilization of workers to demand more pay. Unlike in the past, when most critical eyes focused on the 85-year-old Mugabe, Tsvangirai could become a scapegoat if the economy reverses its gains through lack of aid. But analysts believe the coalition will have little choice but to hold together because catastrophe would come even more quickly if it fell apart. “The strikes are a major threat to the unity government but I don't see it in imminent danger of collapse, it will muddle through in its weak state,” Masunungure said.
