Teachers to return to work as Zimta is condemned

By Henry Makiwa
4 October 2007

Teachers are to return to work after government and the leaders of the Zimbabwe Teachers’ Association (Zimta) agreed on a salary arrangement that was swiftly condemned by another teachers union.

According to a Zimta statement released to the state media Wednesday, the teachers’ union had agreed with government to an unspecified “improved salary” for teachers. It is however understood that the country’s largest teachers’ union, with a membership of 58 000, only settled for a salary increment of Z$14 million. This is Z$4 million shy of what the Progressive Teachers Union of Zimbabwe (PTUZ) was demanding.

The teachers’ job action was approaching its fourth week and it attracted Robert Mugabe’s attention on Monday when he described it as “embarrassing as it comes towards examination time”. Observers believe Mugabe’s involvement may have cajoled Zimta into accepting the pay deal.

Nonetheless, the PTUZ remains adamant that the teachers’ salaries are “paltry” and below the Z$16 million poverty datum line.

The PTUZ general secretary, Raymond Majongwe, accused Zimta of selling out “when government was cornered.”

Majongwe said: “Zimta has sold out for the fifteenth time now, and we are still counting. Teachers and all civil servants alike should never forgive them for this deal because if the teachers had been awarded better pay the entire civil service would have received improved salaries as well.”

He added: “Our members will return to work, bearing in mind there is still more work to be done and we will go back to the drawing board to map out our next course of action to ensure that the teachers’ welfare is addressed. They only joined the strike three day ago and already they have bent to the government’s whims.”

Before the new agreement, some teachers had been earning as little as Z$2 million, which is less than 2 pounds sterling on the black market.

According to the state-controlled Herald newspaper, Zimta’s national president Tendai Chikowore confirmed reaching an agreement with government but declined to give details.

Chikowore encouraged Zimta members to attend provincial World Teachers’ Day commemorations on Friday, where they would get “confidential briefings” on the outcome of the negotiations.

Meanwhile, the Police in the city of Bulawayo have warned the PTUZ against going ahead with its commemorations of World Teacher’s Day, a day that was set aside by the United Nations in recognition of the pivotal roles played by teachers in the world.

Chief among the reasons cited by the police is that the organisation had called for a teachers strike a month ago. The Officer Commanding Bulawayo District, Chief Superintendent Wasara argued that the teachers’ union is bent on tarnishing the image of the country; hence the police will foil the activities of the organisation tomorrow.

However, the PTUZ has filed an urgent court application with the High Court arguing that the police have no jurisdiction to block their meeting.