News / National
Teachers sharpen knives over better pay
20 Feb 2019 at 09:25hrs | Views
The Amalgamated Rural Teachers Union of Zimbabwe (ARTUZ) has announced that it is escalating its fight for its members after the employer has failed to meet the demands that were requested.
"The teachers are recovering from the betrayal and defeat they suffered on 10 February 2019. The defeat came after a protracted job action was aborted at the behest of some Union bosses who were misled by the cunning government. The teachers are now sharpening their knives for another phase of struggle," ARTUZ said.
The Union further revealed that it is happy that other unions have seen the insecurity of the government and are now coming around the support the workers cause.
"The government reneged on its pledge to convene a crisis meeting. At ARTUZ we never took the promise of a meeting seriously but other Unions did. We are glad that Unions are finally realizing that this government will not act without being sufficiently pushed."
Find the full statement below:
Re-energizing the rank and file.
The Amalgamated Rural Teachers' Union of Zimbabwe, ARTUZ have launched a petition imploring the government of Zimbabwe to award them a living wage or they go back on a full blown strike. ARTUZ is targeting a total of 50 000 signatures from the teachers of Zimbabwe. The signed petition will be submitted to relevant government Ministries and departments and will serve as a notification for a fresh job action.
We are encouraged by the response from the teachers, parents, stakeholders and the broader organized labor. A total of 5 300 people have signed our petition on hard copy and others have signed online. The signing will close as soon as we attain the targeted 50 000 signatures.
The ongoing sit in.
Teachers have taken heed of the ongoing sit in and no learning is taking place in the majority of the schools countrywide. This is the best way to deal with our government which believes in command negotiations. Teachers are just signing in to avoid victimization whilst they wait for the declaration of the impending complete withdrawal of labor.
Re-engaging other Unions.
ARTUZ is once again seeking to build consensus with other Unions on the need to declare another full blown strike. We are making progress and we hope to bring other Unions on board.
Victimization of our members.
ARTUZ has received and documented reports of gross human rights violations during the course of our fight for labour justice. A full report will be released in due course. We have instituted mechanisms to guarantee the safety and security of teachers at a time Zimbabwe's democracy is becoming more fragile.
We are deeply concerned with threats of deducting the salaries of teachers who were on strike. We are working with our lawyers to protect our members from this brazen abuse.
"The teachers are recovering from the betrayal and defeat they suffered on 10 February 2019. The defeat came after a protracted job action was aborted at the behest of some Union bosses who were misled by the cunning government. The teachers are now sharpening their knives for another phase of struggle," ARTUZ said.
The Union further revealed that it is happy that other unions have seen the insecurity of the government and are now coming around the support the workers cause.
"The government reneged on its pledge to convene a crisis meeting. At ARTUZ we never took the promise of a meeting seriously but other Unions did. We are glad that Unions are finally realizing that this government will not act without being sufficiently pushed."
Find the full statement below:
Re-energizing the rank and file.
The Amalgamated Rural Teachers' Union of Zimbabwe, ARTUZ have launched a petition imploring the government of Zimbabwe to award them a living wage or they go back on a full blown strike. ARTUZ is targeting a total of 50 000 signatures from the teachers of Zimbabwe. The signed petition will be submitted to relevant government Ministries and departments and will serve as a notification for a fresh job action.
We are encouraged by the response from the teachers, parents, stakeholders and the broader organized labor. A total of 5 300 people have signed our petition on hard copy and others have signed online. The signing will close as soon as we attain the targeted 50 000 signatures.
The ongoing sit in.
Teachers have taken heed of the ongoing sit in and no learning is taking place in the majority of the schools countrywide. This is the best way to deal with our government which believes in command negotiations. Teachers are just signing in to avoid victimization whilst they wait for the declaration of the impending complete withdrawal of labor.
Re-engaging other Unions.
ARTUZ is once again seeking to build consensus with other Unions on the need to declare another full blown strike. We are making progress and we hope to bring other Unions on board.
Victimization of our members.
ARTUZ has received and documented reports of gross human rights violations during the course of our fight for labour justice. A full report will be released in due course. We have instituted mechanisms to guarantee the safety and security of teachers at a time Zimbabwe's democracy is becoming more fragile.
We are deeply concerned with threats of deducting the salaries of teachers who were on strike. We are working with our lawyers to protect our members from this brazen abuse.
Source - Byo24News
