Zimbabwe teachers in fresh strike over pay

Zimbabwe teachers in fresh strike over pay

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TEACHERS in Zimbabwe's state-run schools have begun an indefinite strike to press for better salaries and more funding for equipment, a union official said Sunday in an official statement.

Progressive Teachers Union of Zimbabwe (PTUZ) Secretary General Raymond Majongwe said teachers stopped work after the government ignored their demands for a salary review.

"Teachers in Zimbabwe resolved to go on strike with effect from January 24, 2008 and vowed to go to work after their demands have been fully met," Majongwe said in the statement.

The union acted after the government "unilaterally" awarded teachers a basic monthly salary of Z$141 million, he added. That figure comes to US$4,689 at the official rate -- but just US$28 at the widely used black market rate.

Teachers want a basic monthly salary of Z$1.7 billion, nearly Z$600 million towards housing and transport costs and government funding for teaching materials.

Zimbabwean teachers have been migrating to neighbouring Botswana, Mozambique and South Africa, some of them taking up menial jobs to earn a living and send money to their families at home.

In a separate statement issued to parents and students, the PTUZ appealed to them to support the strike.

"There is a critical shortage of learning materials in our schools. Infrastructure is dilapidated, buildings and school furniture are collapsing," it said.

While official figures put annual inflation at nearly 8,000 percent, economists say it could be nearer 50,000 percent.

Unemployment is running at around 80 percent and there have been widespread shortages of basic goods such as sugar and the staple cornmeal. - AFP

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