LEGISLATORS on Wednesday last week confronted government over its plans to recruit more teachers at a time it was failing to adequately remunerate those already in service.
Teachers in public schools are currently reporting for duty
only two days per week as they push for the pre-October 2018 salaries of
between US$520 and US$550 or their equivalent in local currency.
Last Wednesday during the National Assembly
question-and-answer session, MDC-T Matabeleland South MP Sipho Mokone asked
Public Service minister Paul Mavima to explain why teachers were being
recruited at a time when those already in service were underpaid.
Buhera South MP Joseph Chinotimba (Zanu PF) blamed
government for salary disparities between teachers and the rest of the civil
service, especially those in the security sector.
“I want to bring it to your attention that teachers are the
lowest paid people in society. The lowest paid teacher is receiving a salary of
$10 000, which is lower than the one being paid to a security guard.
“Security guards used to be people who are not well
educated, but now they are earning more than a teacher. This is the point of
clarity that I am appealing to the minister to ensure that this imbalance in
salaries for teachers who are professionals is addressed. There is a disparity
between the salaries of teachers and soldiers,” Chinotimba said.
But Mavima said government would not be restrained by the
prevailing economic environment to recruit more teachers as the economy would
recover and be able to pay its workers competitively.
He dismissed Chinotimba’s claims that teachers were
underpaid, saying that government was in fact paying its employees way above
the salary thresholds recommended by the National Employment Councils (NECs).
“You vice-versed the teacher and the security guards; I
sign the collective bargaining agreements. In actual fact, government is way
above most of the NECs as far as remuneration is concerned. I genuinely say we
did quite a lot in 2020.
“We also did quite a lot in terms of stabilisation of the
economy. The only issue is that is it enough? Maybe not and I have said as we
go forward, we need to continue to look at our situation, review it and work
towards making sure that we are paying optimal levels that motivate our people
to work in a very committed manner. That is what we need if we are to move
government programmes.”
Recently, government announced that it would enforce the
no-work-no-pay policy on striking teachers after salary negotiations reached a
deadlock last month. Newsday
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