Government must pay bonuses or we will go into the streets - RTUZ

The Rural Teachers Union of Zimbabwe (RTUZ) notes with disgust and fury the reckless and irresponsible statements coming from various government ministers regarding the sensitive issue of civil servants bonuses and the union dismisses these with the contempt which they deserve.

It appears that the centre of government can no longer as every idle and under performing minister appear to want to seek relevance by ridiculing, belittling and openly insulting civil servants over their legitimate demand for bonuses.

What is shocking is that the very same micro-phone happy ministers are oblivious to the fact that it was their President Robert Mugabe who on a rainy independence day, after seeing the clear rage on the faces of the young soldiers who stood drenched in the April rain promised that his government would pay bonuses.

Now for a bunch of clowning ministers to take joy in poking fun and heaping ridicule on the demand of civil servants that bonuses must be paid is not just to insult the government workers but the very leader of their government. It appears there is indeed a plot to push government workers into protest so that the very leader who promised bonuses can be exposed and this plot has the express support of minister under him who have croaked that ‘bonuses are not a priority'.

It is utter hogwash for the government to claim to be broke while it sends the entire top brass of government on expensive holidays in foreign resorts at a cost of US$120 million, continue to pay a huge hotel bill for a shameless Vice President and order new vehicles worth US$50 million in addition to the US$200 million spent on cars last year.

In any case if they cannot raise the required money to ensure smooth function of critical social services such as health, education and service delivery then they have no business being in government and must just ship out.

RTUZ had however long seen that some incompetent elements that do not deserve their positions would obviously be unwilling to pay civil servants bonuses for ends best known to them. In this light the union marched on the 4th of January 2016 demanding bonuses as part of this campaign to ‘Restore the Dignity of the Teacher in Zimbabwe'.

Given the monkey tactics which the government is now attempting to deploy the union thus gives the government up to the 15th of February 2016 to sort out their mess. Our demands are as follows:

• Disbursement of full bonuses to all civil servants
• Immediate stop to the 7.5% deductions until salaries are above PDL
• An immediate end to harassment of workers and union leaders

If these demands are not meant, RTUZ will stage a National Bonus Shut Down protest march on the 26th of February 2016. RTUZ will join hands with all other progressive associations in the civil service and ordinary civil servants to push this government to honor its promises and we will leave our work stations and flood the streets of Harare and Bulawayo.

In between now and the 26thof February 2016, RTUZ will engage with the relevant offices so that they can remind the President on his promise. We will also support various initiatives which are genuine and directed at forcing this regime to respect its workers and pay what is due to them.

As a union we believe in collaboration and cooperation with sister unions and fellow workers and will continue to engage them as we have always done before on matters of common interests such as this of bonus and other demands we have placed before government.

Shinga mushandi shinga! Qina msebenzi qina!