HARARE, March 30 (Reuters) - Zimbabwe's main labour union said on Friday it would go ahead with a job boycott next week but said there would be no street marches for fear of possible violent official reprisals.

The Zimbabwe Congress of Trade Unions (ZCTU) said the majority of its affiliate unions had backed the April 3-4 stay away because President Robert Mugabe's government had not complied with demands to improve workers' conditions.

The workers want a minimum wage of 1 million Zimbabwe dollars ($4,000 on the official market but worth $50 on the black market) and for the government to resolve an economic meltdown and increase access to anti-retroviral drugs.

Police last September thwarted a planned peaceful protest by the ZCTU and arrested its leaders and a dozen workers, who said they were beaten and injured while in police custody.

Police also moved to stop an opposition rally this month, arresting and allegedly beating several opposition leaders in a move which drew widespread international condemnation.

"Considering the current environment, the ZCTU is saying people have to stay at home, stay indoors (because) it has to be as peaceful as possible," ZCTU president Lovemore Matombo told journalists, acknowledging fears of a government crackdown.

Analysts say the ZCTU's calls for strikes over labour and social issues in recent years have largely failed due to government intimidation and workers' fears of losing their jobs in a country that has an 80 percent unemployment rate.

Zimbabwe is in the throes of damaging economic crisis, which has seen inflation pass 1,700 percent, unemployment rocketing to 80 percent and worsened shortages of foreign currency and food.

Matombo said the ZCTU would be carrying out work stayaways every three months if workers' concerns were not addressed.

The government has since last month imposed bans on protests and rallies across much of Harare after police clashed with opposition supporters.

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