Teachers' Unions Deny Govt Claims They Are Back At Work
Several teachers’ unions have refuted claims by the Government that they have returned to work, saying that can only happen when their grievances have been addressed.
Teachers are demanding the restoration of the pre-2018 salaries that were pegged at US$540 per month.
Earlier on Monday, the Government announced that teachers had resumed duties following the presentation of what it described as a “lucrative package”.
According to Zimbabwe Teachers’ Association (ZIMTA), the largest union representing teachers in the country, teachers now earn US$375 per month which they said is a positive movement towards the restoration of the pre-October 2018 salary level of US$540 for D1 grade then.
However, Progressive Teachers Union of Zimbabwe (PTUZ) secretary-general Raymond Majongwe told New Zimbabwe that teachers are still incapacitated and therefore cannot return to work. Majongwe said:
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Teachers are not going back to work. They are saying pay us what we asked for and we will be of service to the country. Without that, it is going to be difficult.
Amalgamated Rural Teachers Union of Zimbabwe (ARTUZ) secretary-general Robson Chere said:
Teachers have defied the Government order, they have defied the command approach of forcing them back to school and are not in schools.
Teachers are still at home. They are incapacitated and the demand is very clear: a US$540 salary and a restoration of pre-October 2018 salaries.
The Government recently awarded civil servants a 20% increase in the Zimbabwe Dollar salary component backdated to 1 January 2022.
In addition, US$100 per month in hard currency will be paid to every civil servant with effect from the 1st of March 2022.
The Government said it will pay school fees for up to three biological children per teaching family, with an upper limit of ZWL20 000 per child per term, paid directly to the school.
