Teachers won’t rule out strike action over salary demands

By Lance Guma
28 August 2007

The Progressive Teachers Union of Zimbabwe (PTUZ) says it will not rule out the possibility of strike action if teacher’s salaries are not increased to Z$15 million a month. The basic pay for teachers is around Z$2,9 million with a net pay of around Z$2,5million after deductions. Oswald Madziva, the National Coordinator of the PTUZ, told Newsreel that government is reneging on the Tripartite Negotiating Forum (TNF) position of ensuring salaries are above the poverty datum line, currently pegged at Z$8,2 million a month. The union is already consulting its membership on what action to take if their demands are not met.

In early August the state media heralded the signing of the Incomes and Stabilisation protocol but labour unions insisted it was just mere signatures on paper with nothing coming out of it. Most employers, including government itself, are not pegging salaries to the poverty datum line as agreed. Farm workers are said to be getting Z$350 000 a month while domestic workers recently had a new minimum wage of Z$120 000 a month gazetted by government. The highest paid domestic will get Z$142 336 a month.

This year the country was rocked by several strikes in different sectors as doctors, nurses, teachers and others downed their tools demanding higher wages. The hyper-inflationary environment has however ensured that all those who got increments have lost any gains made or are now worse of than before. At the beginning of August teachers unions were demanding Z$8,5 million per month. As September approaches that figure has now been upped to Z$15 million. Little wonder a heated provincial meeting of the PTUZ in Harare this month saw teachers demand salaries in foreign currency to cushion themselves from inflation.