News / National
'Zimbabwe teachers' wages now US$75'
21 Oct 2018 at 10:15hrs | Views
Takavafira Zhou, Progressive Teachers Union of Zimbabwe (PTUZ) president says Zimbabwean teachers' wages have now diminished to a paltry US$75 if converted to the more stable foreign currency.
In a statement Saturday, Zhou supported the demands by the Zimbabwe Teachers Association for educators to be paid their wages in foreign currency.
"The current erosion of teachers' salaries calls for an urgent intervention by government to restore some semblance of sanity and protect teachers from becoming miserable," Zhou said.
"Fundamentally, October has seen the value of the bond devaluing drastically so much that a teacher's salary in bond is less than US$75.
"That there is need to use the US$, pula and rand to stabilise our economy is more real than apparent. Any other claims of a 1:1 bond to US$ ratio is a tissue of misrepresentation."
Zhou said among some of the reasons teachers should be paid in foreign currency was because when salary negotiations were last made between them and their employer, they were all talking in US dollar terms.
"Current salaries were negotiated in foreign currency and 'bondirising' them is tantamount to unfair labour practice.
"'Bondirisation' of salaries has greatly eroded teachers' salaries…prices of available goods are sky-rocketing while the bond is becoming worthless."
The PTUZ chief said local shops and pharmacies have pegged available goods and medicines against foreign currency while medical aid schemes have become "virtually useless".
"Drs are demanding cash upfront pegged against foreign currency," he said, adding that teachers were "a vital cog of societal development whose respect and dignity in society must be maintained in order to achieve quality public education by 2030".
"The government cannot entrust the future generation and development of the country to hungry, poor and miserable teachers," he said.
Government is however yet to respond to the teachers' calls for foreign currency wages.
In a statement Saturday, Zhou supported the demands by the Zimbabwe Teachers Association for educators to be paid their wages in foreign currency.
"The current erosion of teachers' salaries calls for an urgent intervention by government to restore some semblance of sanity and protect teachers from becoming miserable," Zhou said.
"Fundamentally, October has seen the value of the bond devaluing drastically so much that a teacher's salary in bond is less than US$75.
"That there is need to use the US$, pula and rand to stabilise our economy is more real than apparent. Any other claims of a 1:1 bond to US$ ratio is a tissue of misrepresentation."
Zhou said among some of the reasons teachers should be paid in foreign currency was because when salary negotiations were last made between them and their employer, they were all talking in US dollar terms.
"'Bondirisation' of salaries has greatly eroded teachers' salaries…prices of available goods are sky-rocketing while the bond is becoming worthless."
The PTUZ chief said local shops and pharmacies have pegged available goods and medicines against foreign currency while medical aid schemes have become "virtually useless".
"Drs are demanding cash upfront pegged against foreign currency," he said, adding that teachers were "a vital cog of societal development whose respect and dignity in society must be maintained in order to achieve quality public education by 2030".
"The government cannot entrust the future generation and development of the country to hungry, poor and miserable teachers," he said.
Government is however yet to respond to the teachers' calls for foreign currency wages.
Source - newzimbabwe
