They said the protests were targeted at Finance minister
Mthuli Ncube, whom they accused of slashing their salaries from US$540 in 2018
to US$100 as he implemented his unpopular fiscal policy measures in 2018.
Their protest yesterday ran under the hashtag
#EndSalarySanctions.
In a series of tweets, Artuz said the salaries that
teachers were getting were inadequate for their self-sustenance.
“The teacher takes home a salary of ZW$16 308, which is an
equivalent of around US$82. The teacher cannot afford 2 100 calories of food
per day for each member of a family of five. They earn below the food poverty
line. They are malnourished. These are sanctions imposed on us by the
government #EndSalarySanctions,” Artuz tweeted.
“This is the reason why we are calling on citizens to help
us implore @MthuliNcube to end #EndSalarySanctions.”
They said the only weapon left for them was to down tools
in protest as the responsibility to save the education sector was on Ncube’s
shoulders.
“Teachers keep on piling pressure on @MthuliNcube to end
salary sanctions. The government should not punish civil servants who are
working round the clock to keep this nation ticking. The sanctions list is
long.”
Zimbabwe Teachers Association (Zimta) acting national
general-secretary Goodwill Taderera said although teachers affiliated to his
union had not unanimously decided to join the online protests, as a union they
welcomed every effort and move by different stakeholders to enhance the
conditions of service for teachers.
“We support every move and effort that will push the government
to pay teachers a reasonable salary. We appreciate Artuz for fighting in their
corner and we have no problem with any stakeholders that push for salary
enhancement and the well-being of teachers,” Taderera said.
Progressive Teachers Union of Zimbabwe (PTUZ) President
Takavafira Zhou said sanctions come in two forms; internal and external.
Zhou said internal sanctions included issues such as
underpayment of teachers in particular and of civil servants in general, as
well as the high-profile corruption that has become routine and has invited
imposition of external sanctions.
“We call upon our Zimbabwean government to pay teachers and
the rest of the civil servants as they are the pillars of sustainable
development of the nation. As much as we
have not jointly planned anything with any other union in Zimbabwe, we have
been in the forefront in calling for
unity in diversity against slave wages for teachers that in some way are a form
of internal sanctions.
“What is, however, more deleterious to national development
are internal sanctions characterised by cartelism, underpayment of workers and
a shocking contrast between richness and poverty,” Zhou said.
Zimbabwe Congress of Trade Unions (ZCTU) secretary-general
Japhet Moyo said as a union, they had been campaigning against wage theft over
the years.
“Any effort by any of our affiliates or workers to demand a
living wage is appreciated and supported. Businesses have been making huge
profits taking advantage of the parallel market rates, but at the same time
refusing to link wages to the same exchange rates. Most goods and services are
in US$ or parallel exchange rate, but wages are compressed. This is in both the
public and private sectors,” Moyo said.
Last week in response to threats by teachers to strike,
Primary and Secondary Education ministry spokesperson Taungana Ndoro said: “There is nothing overwhelming about calls
for job action that would be heeded by about 3 000 teachers. Primary and Secondary Education minister
Evelyn Ndlovu said she was committed to address issues pertaining to the
welfare of teachers.” Newsday
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