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15:36, 28-Apr-2018
Zimbabwe's teachers threaten to strike as unrest spreads
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A restive public sector continues to pose problems for Zimbabwean President Emmerson Mnangagwa ahead of elections set for July.
In the week that nurses returned to work or were sacked after taking part in industrial action, the biggest teachers’ union announced on Friday that its members will go on strike to demand an increase in salaries and allowances when schools reopen next month for the new term.
Junior doctors previously went on strike in March as industrial unrest began to spread across the public sector.
The Zimbabwe Teachers’ Association (ZIMTA) wrapped up its annual general meeting in the resort town of Victoria Falls by agreeing that its members would not attend classes when schools reopen on May 8.
ZIMTA, which has 44,000 members, said salaries and allowances had not been increased since 2013, while the government still barred teachers from taking long leave, known as “vacation leave,” as had happened in the past.
Local reports say the government made a decision in 2016 to withdraw the leave entitlement for teachers, as part of austerity measures.
“For the avoidance of doubt, our members will be on strike and will withdraw their labor effective the 8th of May, until the issues raised have been resolved,” ZIMTA said in a statement signed by its president and secretary general.
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The other three unions did not immediately say whether they would join ZIMTA in the strike. The government employs more than 100,000 teachers.
An entry-level teacher earns a basic monthly pay of 286 US dollars before allowances, according to ZIMTA.
Mnangagwa, who took over when Robert Mugabe was forced to resign in November, has said his priority is to revive the economy by opening up the country to foreign investment and repairing relations with the West, but he faces pressure to deliver quickly from an expectant public sector ahead of the elections.
Raymond Majongwe, the secretary-general of the Progressive Teachers' Union, said teachers were not happy with Mnangagwa's call to open the country for business while ignoring the workers' plight.
In an effort to keep a lid on the labor unrest, the government fired striking nurses after accusing them of a politically motivated move. Other workers decided to return to work.
July's planned election will be the first since Mugabe quit.
Top photo: Students at Majorho School in Nyanga, northeastern Zimbabwe. /VCG Photo
Source(s): Reuters