(Adds detail on police, human rights lawyers) By MacDonald Dzirutwe HARARE, April 4 (Reuters) - Zimbabwe President Robert Mugabe's government on Wednesday increased police patrols and stepped up a propaganda blitz to stifle a national strike over wages amid a devastating economic crisis. Many companies and shops in major cities were again open on Wednesday, the second and last day of a strike called by labour unions, as the government continued warning that organisers were "looking for trouble". Mugabe's government says the stay-away by Zimbabwe Congress of Trade Unions (ZCTU) is part of a wider plot by the main opposition Movement for Democratic Change (MDC) to oust it and promised tough action against any open protests. ZCTU leaders and some independent analysts say fear crippled the boycott, but many people are nevertheless very angry over the economic crisis, which has seen inflation soar past 1,700 percent and left most workers struggling to pay their bills and feed their families. The strike call came after Mugabe's government launched a widely condemned crackdown on the opposition which has left some of his rivals with severe injuries, including main opposition leader Morgan Tsvangirai. Human rights lawyers said on Wednesday opposition activists who were arrested last week on links to recent petrol bombings, had been tortured in police custody. PATROLS ON THE STREETS On Wednesday, Zimbabwe riot police squads patrolled industrial districts and restive working class townships in the capital Harare in slightly larger numbers than on Tuesday. ZCTU officials were not available for comment but have accused the government of intimidation. Police spokesman Wayne Bvudzijena said there were no reports of trouble. Reuters correspondents who drove around the city saw foot patrols, and a few other police deployments in armoured trucks but there were no reports of violence in major cities. Workers at a brick moulding factory in Harare, who said they observed the boycott on Tuesday, said they turned up on Wednesday after realising many businesses ignored the strike. "We stayed away because we thought that is the right thing to do to express our grievances, but we are here today because we realise it's not going to make much of a difference if only a few of us are going to heed this strike," said one man, who after some hesitance, said his name was Raphael Mafa. A group of women vegetable vendors outside a shopping mall in the township of Budiriro said a staying away from work would mean losing income generated from selling fresh vegetables. Nearly eight in 10 Zimbabweans eligible for employment have no formal jobs and earn their living through informal trade, including buying and selling goods from neighbouring countries. Mugabe's government said the ZCTU strike was a flop and state media pressed on with a propaganda blitz on Wednesday, suggesting workers had defied the unions because they did not support their "Western and imperialistic agenda". Zimbabwe state radio repeatedly aired a statement by Information Minister Sikhanyiso Ndlovu that the West had failed in its efforts to sponsor the ZCTU and opposition parties to oust Mugabe's government. "Once again the politics of regime change have failed dismally sending a very clear message to all those working against our nation that their efforts will come to naught," Ndlovu said in the statement.
