Mugabe promises to address striking teachers' plight

Mugabe promises to address striking teachers' plight

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ZIMBABWE'S President Robert Mugabe on Wednesday urged striking teachers in public schools to return to work promising to address their demand for better salaries.

"Teachers, we understand your concerns and we are addressing them," Mugabe, 84, said at a campaign rally in Mahusekwa, about 70 kilometres (45 miles) southeast of the capital Harare, ahead of general elections on March 29.

"But we are against this idea of you going on strike. Children must attend school without disruption. We cannot guess what is bothering you, but you can make your recommendations to us.

"Yours is the noblest profession. There is no engineer, doctor or nurse who just became what they are without passing through the hands of a teacher. You boycott your work like ordinary factory workers."

Teachers in Zimbabwe's state-run schools launched a strike on Friday to press for better salaries saying recent increases were overtaken by inflation.

The government, which gave teachers a pay rise in January, has ignored fresh salary demands.

Zimbabwe's economy has been on a downturn over the past eight years with inflation now officially at more than 100,000 percent.

At least 80 percent of the population is living below the poverty threshold, often skipping meals and doing without such commodities as milk and butter in order to stretch their income. - AFP

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