THE Amalgamated Rural Teachers Union of Zimbabwe (Artuz) says its members will go on strike beginning today, a week before “O” and “A” Level students are due to sit for the November Zimbabwe Schools Examination Council (Zimsec) examinations, to press government for a salary increase.
Zimsec examinations are scheduled to start on November 22
for “O” Level candidates, while “A” Level and Grade 7 examinations will
commence on November 29.
Last week, government said it would pay its workers United
States dollar bonuses up to US$700.
Information secretary Ndavaningi Mangwana told NewsDay that
the strike would be retrogressive.
Artuz president Obert Masaraure said their withdrawal of
services was a result of reluctance by government to listen to their concerns.
“Artuz has made a pledge for total withdrawal of labour
starting on November 15, 2021 until November 27, 2021 after extensive consultation
with our membership nationwide, and communication of such has been shared with
the membership, public, relevant stakeholders and the government,” he said.
“The major thrust of this decision and the impending action
is informed by the continued reluctance by the employer to engage with teachers
to review our pathetic and meagre salaries. Teachers are suffering a lot and
being continually ordered to sacrifice is an insult of the highest order. We
will no longer be driven to the abyss of slavery and lack of recognition for
the value of our work.
“The momentum is on our side, the law is on our side and we
should not be intimidated by an unfocused and uncaring parasitic employer who
masquerades as a hero to everyone but in actual fact is just a sophisticated
version of a slave regime.”
Masaraure said parents should not send their children to
school in solidarity with the educators.
“Things are coming to a head tomorrow. Teachers in Zimbabwe
are not demanding El Dorado, but are demanding a living wage in line with the
agreement of the pre-2018 October salaries,” he said.
Yesterday, Mangwana said government was not aware of the
strike action, but described it as retrogressive.
“We are not aware of the strike, but there are many
teachers’ unions. If one group decides not to cover the examinations, I am sure
some groups will cover it. I am simply saying this without saying names of
unions, but I am sure some will not agree to it,” he said.
“Not all teachers will agree with leveraging school pupils.
It’s like holding a knife on the throat of a child and threatening the
government that you will kill the pupil. As government, we are not aware of
this, but why would teachers go on strike at such a time.”
Last week, Public Service and Labour minister Paul Mavima
told NewsDay that government was still negotiating with civil servants over
their salary demands.
Progressive Teachers Union of Zimbabwe secretary-general
Raymond Majongwe said his union would stand with Artuz.
“We are expecting the government to show seriousness. The
newly-appointed Minister of Primary and Secondary Education, Evelyn Ndlovu, was
supposed to sit down and check for areas that need serious attention, for
instance the welfare of teachers in the current situation. Recruiting more teachers will not address the
fundamental problems that teachers are facing,” he said.
Zimbabwe Teachers Association chief executive officer
Sifiso Ndlovu accused government of not engaging trade unions to hear their
concerns.
“We do not have a listening government and all it ever does
is sideline us whenever it makes decisions. It thinks we are not important at
all,” he said. Newsday
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