Following a brutal crackdown on MDC demonstrations by the
police in Harare last Friday, the Amalgamated Rural Teachers Union of Zimbabwe
(ARTUZ) yesterday announced that it had postponed plans to picket at Finance
minister Mthuli Ncube’s offices to pressure government to review the educators’
salaries.
A fortnight ago, the rural teachers resolved to start
picketing at Ncube’s offices on pay days to push for interbank rate-pegged
salaries. Dubbed Pay Day Funerals. The protests were scheduled to begin
yesterday with teachers urged to wear black as a sign of mourning their poor
salaries and the death of the purchasing power of their incomes. ARTUZ
president, Obert Masaraure told NewsDay that they had set a new date for the
protests.
“Due to the current instability in the capital, the
proposed salary funeral (demonstration) at Mthuli Ncube’s offices has been
shifted from August 19 (yesterday) to Friday August 23,” he said.
Masaraure reiterated that the postponement was a strategic
decision taken by the rural teachers after last week’s ruthless crackdown on MDC
protesters by riot police.
“It (postponement) was a strategic decision to remobilise
and rebuild the momentum that has been destroyed by the cowardly violence
perpetrated by the State against innocent citizens last Friday,” he said.
Last year when ARTUZ camped at the Finance ministry’s
offices making similar demands, the police rounded up the union’s leaders and
locked them up. However, Masaraure indicated there is no fear among teachers
due to the previous actions by the police. “Out of courtesy we notified the
police and they guaranteed the safety of all protesters. At law we are exempted
by the Public Order and Security Act in such a protest because it is an
internal event. It will be ridiculous to find the police meddling in a labour
dispute between an employer and employees,” the ARTUZ president said.
Last month, government gave a once-off $400 cushion
allowance to all civil servants and expectations were that the amount would
automatically be effected on this month’s salaries. However, the civil servants
did not get the allowance, effectively pushing them deeper into poverty as the
local currency continues to tumble against the United States dollar.
Masaraure said currently teachers were earning the
equivalent of US$30. Newsday
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