Teachers' unions yesterday said their members were on Tuesday paid an average Z$29 trillion (less than US$10) as salary for January and enough to buy only 10 loaves of bread.
Unions have been asking for the least paid teacher to earn slightly above US$2 000. The American unit was on Wednesday fetching about Z$10 trillion on the illegal parallel market for foreign currency, where the bulk of hard cash is traded.
Progressive Teachers' Union of Zimbabwe (PTUZ) secretary general Raymond Majongwe dismissed the new salary as an insult and a mockery promising the militant union that has led previous strikes by teachers would call on all its members to boycott classes when schools open next Tuesday.
"The salary of $29 trillion for January is in essence an insult and mockery. What in reality can the salary do in light of sky-rocketing prices of basic needs, accommodation, transport, education and health costs? said Majongwe.
He added: "The strike (next week) is about the misery of teachers. Without money there is no going back to work.
Zimbabwe Teachers Association (ZIMTA) spokesperson Sifiso Ndlovu said teachers would not accept salaries in local currency that he said had been virtually "demonitised" through partial dollarisation of the economy by the Reserve Bank of Zimbabwe.
The central bank last September licenced selected manufacturers, wholesalers and retailers to charge goods and services in foreign currency, but almost every shop and trader is selling goods in hard cash.
"We are asking for salaries in foreign currency because we are operating in an economically abnormal situation where you can no longer use the local currency to buy goods or access essential services," Ndlovu said. "The January salary for teachers is not peanuts, but nutshells. The salary is not even fit to be called allowances."
Very little learning took place at public schools in 2008 as teachers spent the better part of the year striking for more pay or sitting at home because they could not afford bus fare to work on their meagre salaries.
The new school term was initially set to start on January 13, but the government moved the date to January 27, citing failure by the Zimbabwe Schools Examinations Councils to complete marking of last year's public schools examinations.
Delays in marking examinations were because senior teachers would not mark them until their were paid more allowances.
Education ministry permanent secretary Stephen Mahere yesterday declined to comment on threats by union leaders to call a fresh strike by teachers and disrupt the new school term.
Close to a decade of acute economic recession has left President Robert Mugabe's government unable to fund daily running costs or pay teachers, soldiers and health workers and there are fears the entire civil service could soon down tools due to poor remuneration.
Last week, soldiers failed to access their January salaries on time after government failed to deposit them in their accounts.
The soldiers started receiving their salaries only last weekend, amid reports that morale in the army was low after government said it had no money to pay them in foreign currency.
However the government reportedly assured the soldiers that it would soon pay them allowances in hard currency. – ZimOnline
Post published in: Mining