Teachers set to boycott classes from Friday over pay

The PTUZ told a press conference in Harare that its members would start boycotting classes every Friday from this week, a boycott that will continue until the Education Ministry responds to teachers demands. SW Radio Africa correspondent Simon Muchemwa explained that the Friday boycott could increase to a multiple day boycott, unless the government responds.

The PTUZ members will keep adding an extra day if the government does not respond, and so by the third school term we might not see any teachers at school any day of the week, Muchemwa said.

High on the list of demands are improved salaries and working conditions. PTUZ Secretary General Raymond Majongwe explained during the press conference that one such demand would be to remove youth militias from many schools across the county. The presence of youth militia, which have set up bases in various schools, has raised concern for the wellbeing of teachers, who last year were targeted with violence during the post-election unrest. The PTUZ has expressed further concern about the militarisation of teaching staff, where former military personnel are reportedly taking over teaching duties in some schools.

In May, the Education Ministry managed to prevent a nationwide strike, despite not being able to meet the wage demands laid out by the countrys educators. The Ministry instead managed to persuade teachers unions that they were doing everything they could to raise money for the education system, and as an incentive allowed the teachers own children to have free schooling.

At the time teachers unions, including the PTUZ and the Zimbabwe Teachers Association (ZIMTA), acknowledged that their wage demands could not be met. They agreed to go along with the proposed road map plan set out by Education Minister David Coltart that would eventually see a significant pay rise in the education system. But patience is now appearing to wear out. ZIMTA last week stated that its members will soon find it irresistible to embark on industrial action. The association said that strike action at the end of July would be a last resort if current engagements with the Education Ministry fail to yield results this month.

Many teachers across the country have already stopped working, apparently in an effort to find other jobs to supplement their meagre civil servants income. According to the PTUZ, areas such as Bikita, Mberengwa, Chivi, Buhera and Chipinge, have been badly affected, with teachers no longer going to work. At the same time, a group of about 50 teachers took to the streets of Masvingo on Friday, to protest over the non-payment of their salaries by the unity government since its formation earlier this year. The protesting teachers said they have not been paid the promised allowances since the beginning of the year, when Zimbabwe dollarised its economy.

Meanwhile, as the education sector battles to recover after collapsing last year, the Great Zimbabwe University (GZU) reportedly failed to open on Monday, because students are unable to afford the fees. The university is demanding at least US$300 from students for the second semester. Students results for the last semester have been withheld until full payment has been paid, leaving most students reportedly unable to register for the new term.