News / National
Zimbabwe teachers' salaries, a mockery
21 May 2019 at 07:26hrs | Views
Disgruntled rural teachers have advised government to stop reviewing their salaries in RTGS$ as this does not provide a solution to their economic challenges.
It is believed teachers in the country are some of the worst paid in the world.
In a statement Amalgamated Rural Teachers' Union of Zimbabwe (Artuz) said the constant decline in value of the local currency against the United States dollar is continually wiping out the value of teachers' salaries which have become a "mockery of their profession"
Zimbabwe teachers' salaries have been eroded to $2.50 a day (roughly R700 a month) - not enough for a typical family to survive. Teachers say they are struggling to put food on the table and to pay for their children to go to school.
Teachers say the service offered by government's medical scheme is poor.
Zimbabwe has been using the US dollars for the past decade and more recently, adopted local currency Bond Notes.
It comes after the local currency tanked amid hyperinflation.
Civil servants, including teachers, have been demanding that their salaries be paid in foreign currency to cushion them against price increases caused by the depreciation of the bond note.
Below is the full statement from ARTUZ:
The free fall of the RTGS dollar against the United States dollar has wiped out the value of Teachers' salaries. Teachers are now earning below US $80 per month.
The Finance Minister Prof Mthuli continue to mislead the country by claiming that he has instituted measures to stabilize prices of goods and services. The lying professor further posits that workers' salaries should not be negotiated in US dollar terms.
Injecting funds in the market for price stabilisation is an unsustainable attempt to arrest our economic challenges. The long term solution is hinged on stimulating production, nothing more nothing less.
Salary negotiations will continue revolving around the value of the RTGS vis-à-vis the US dollar as long as we continue to heavily rely on imports. Prices of basic goods and services are pegged against the USD, it will be naive for organized labour to ignore this reality.
Teachers are now worse off compared to someone on government welfare in South Africa.
Amalgamated Rural Teachers' Union of Zimbabwe, demands a minimum of US$ 500 per month. This falls short of the USD 600 proposed by the Zimbabwe Congress of Trade Unions' General Council on 23 March. We are demanding less because we understand the economic challenges confronting our country.
We have given our government up to the 3rd of June 2019 to pay us a living wage. If the government fails to deliver by then we will be forced to withdraw our labour.
We call upon the teachers of Zimbabwe to prepare for this historic protest. Our employer used the " No work no pay" principle against us in February. It follows now that we are no longer being paid we can't be seen working. No pay no work, simple.
We warn the government to stop victimising our membership, they should rather focus on curbing corruption and solving the economic crisis.
We demand a living wage!
ARTUZ making teaching beautiful!
It is believed teachers in the country are some of the worst paid in the world.
In a statement Amalgamated Rural Teachers' Union of Zimbabwe (Artuz) said the constant decline in value of the local currency against the United States dollar is continually wiping out the value of teachers' salaries which have become a "mockery of their profession"
Zimbabwe teachers' salaries have been eroded to $2.50 a day (roughly R700 a month) - not enough for a typical family to survive. Teachers say they are struggling to put food on the table and to pay for their children to go to school.
Teachers say the service offered by government's medical scheme is poor.
Zimbabwe has been using the US dollars for the past decade and more recently, adopted local currency Bond Notes.
It comes after the local currency tanked amid hyperinflation.
Civil servants, including teachers, have been demanding that their salaries be paid in foreign currency to cushion them against price increases caused by the depreciation of the bond note.
Below is the full statement from ARTUZ:
The free fall of the RTGS dollar against the United States dollar has wiped out the value of Teachers' salaries. Teachers are now earning below US $80 per month.
Injecting funds in the market for price stabilisation is an unsustainable attempt to arrest our economic challenges. The long term solution is hinged on stimulating production, nothing more nothing less.
Salary negotiations will continue revolving around the value of the RTGS vis-à-vis the US dollar as long as we continue to heavily rely on imports. Prices of basic goods and services are pegged against the USD, it will be naive for organized labour to ignore this reality.
Teachers are now worse off compared to someone on government welfare in South Africa.
Amalgamated Rural Teachers' Union of Zimbabwe, demands a minimum of US$ 500 per month. This falls short of the USD 600 proposed by the Zimbabwe Congress of Trade Unions' General Council on 23 March. We are demanding less because we understand the economic challenges confronting our country.
We have given our government up to the 3rd of June 2019 to pay us a living wage. If the government fails to deliver by then we will be forced to withdraw our labour.
We call upon the teachers of Zimbabwe to prepare for this historic protest. Our employer used the " No work no pay" principle against us in February. It follows now that we are no longer being paid we can't be seen working. No pay no work, simple.
We warn the government to stop victimising our membership, they should rather focus on curbing corruption and solving the economic crisis.
We demand a living wage!
ARTUZ making teaching beautiful!
Source - online
