The universities that have already embarked on industrial action include the University of Zimbabwe (UZ), National University of Science and Technology (NUST), Great Zimbabwe University (GZU), and the Midlands State University (MSU).
The Harare Institute of Technology (HIT), Chinhoyi University of Technology (CUT) and Zimbabwe Open University (ZOU) have not yet entered the strike but sources say the first two are likely to join soon.
“This industrial action has been collectively agreed on by the universities. State universities feel they are getting a raw deal from government. As we speak, we have not received our February salaries and there have been delays to pay for several months,” said a senior UZ staffer.
The UZ and NUST went on strike at almost the same time yesterday.
On Tuesday, anti-riot police had to be called to seal off the campus when student rioted.
“The resident students had nothing to eat from yesterday when the non-teaching staff at the dining halls also agreed to go on strike. This is why they decided to riot but the disturbances were not serious,” said the source.
The UZ staff agreed yesterday to withdrew their services for a week, hoping that government would listen to their grievances even though, according to the sources, treasury had indicated that it was struggling to raise money for salaries.
Levi Nyagura, the UZ vice chancellor, had initially reportedly called an emergency meeting with faculty deans but that was cancelled as he went to the higher education ministry where he spent most of his time on Tuesday.
Other sources at UZ said government had at one time unofficially threatened to cut the state university salaries, arguing staff was overpaid.
The state universities and higher education ministry were not immediately available for comments.
Post published in: News