Teachers vow to invade Chinamasa offices

Unable to pay teachers and nurses this month … Finance minister Patrick Chinamasa

Government, woefully short of money, has delayed payment of June salaries for all civil servants with teachers told they would only be paid July 7.

After the State workers said they would not be able to report for work, the government offered a $100 advance to help cover transport costs but this has been rejected by some of the unions.

The Rural Teachers Union of Zimbabwe (RTUZ) said it would call a nationwide strike if government does not pay members’ salaries in full.

In a statement, the organization called on teachers to stage a sit-in protest at the Ministry of Finance offices in Harare Friday morning.

“We will protest until our salaries are paid in full; failure of which we will call for our members to engage in a nationwide strike,” RTUZ president Obert Masaraure said.

“The Government only considers our need to report for duty without looking at our other welfare needs.

“For a worker to report for duty a number of basic needs should be met for him or her to function properly.

“We have monthly obligations that include our accommodation, health and children’s care and this cannot be deferred to any other month.”

Masaraure hit out at abuse of funds by some ministers at a time the government was claiming that it does not have the resources to pay salaries.

“The country is broke but we do not understand why some ministers like Supa Mandiwanzira are splashing $200,000 of parastatal money on a top of the range vehicle,” he said.

“We call for proper administration of public funds that is transparent and priorities essential services.

“RTUZ will not be part of the so-called stakeholder consultations called by Government.

“We view these as red herrings designed to buy time and mislead the suffering teachers that their salaries are being prioritized by the Government.”