Police attack striking teachers in Harare

By Violet Gonda
21 February 2007

The Crisis in Zimbabwe Coalition reported that truckloads of anti riot police embarked on a massive beating up spree of teachers in Glen Norah on Wednesday. The state sponsored retribution is seen as an exercise in punishing the teachers for embarking on a countrywide strike.

The gender secretary for the Progressive Teachers Union of Zimbabwe (PTUZ) confirmed that there were stampedes at schools in Glen Norah as police beat teachers who were staging a sit-in. Children were sent home for their safety.

This week the much larger Zimbabwe Teachers Association (ZIMTA) joined the radical PTUZ that has been on strike for the last two weeks. The teachers are demanding better working conditions and increased salaries that are inline with the Poverty Datum Line, which is currently more than Z$580 000. Teachers who are not aligned to the two main unions have also joined the strike.

The PTUZ gender secretary said the attacks took place at Kudakwashe, Shiriyedenga, Ruvheneko and Chembira Schools in Glen Norah and also Glen View No. 9 School.

The Crisis in Zimbabwe Coalition also allege that some teachers were forced to consume chalk by brutal police.

We were not able to get a comment from the police.