A TEACHERS’ strike at government schools called by a union on Tuesday disrupted learning as the first term opened.
Most schools around the country opened as normal, but learning did not take place at some institutions as teachers heeded a strike call by the Progressive Teachers’ Union of Zimbabwe (PTUZ) – one of three unions representing teachers.
Unions are generally united in their demands for salary increases of more than 50 percent, but they are divided over the course of action to take to force the government into making the adjustments.
The Zimbabwe Teachers’ Association (ZIMTA), the oldest and largest union, has urged members to continue teaching while it pursues negotiations with the government.
ZIMTA secretary general Sifiso Ndlovu said: “We have an agreement in Apex Council not to go on strike while negotiations are continuing.
“We don’t support this strike action called by the other union. Our members understand this position and are continuing to teach.”
The teachers, who on average earn about US$300 a month, want an increase to around US$540. The unions say they will otherwise be living in poverty.
“The government has money. Where are the diamonds dividends going? Ministers and senior government (officials) are busy driving (the) latest models of cars while teachers suffer,” said Raymond Majongwe, the secretary general of the PTUZ.
Majongwe was referring to recent government sales of precious stones from the Marange diamond fields.
Those fields were removed in 2011 from the restricted list of the Kimberly Process – an international mechanism meant to prevent profiteering from blood diamonds – giving the government a new source of revenue.
But Finance Minister Tendai Biti has repeatedly said that the government's wage bill is too large to give civil servants a pay rise.
Education Minister David Coltart was returning from a working visit to England to try and defuse the tensions, with a meeting between unions and the government set to take place on Wednesday.
The education sector in Zimbabwe was once the pride of the nation and was seen as an example for other developing countries. But like other sectors, schooling has been in decline over much of the past decade, since Zimbabwe's economy went into a tailspin.
Many teachers left the profession – or quit the country altogether to work abroad – citing poor working conditions.
But the formation of a coalition government in February 2009 has seen the situation improve somewhat, in part thanks to donations from the international community.
The International Monetary Fund last year said that Zimbabwe, which owes foreign lenders more than US$7 billion, could not afford to raise civil servants' salaries as this would lead to arrears on repayments.