ZOU Part-Time Tutors Go 8 Months Without Pay

Part-time lecturers at the state-owned Zimbabwe Open University (ZOU) have gone for eight months without receiving payment for services including tutoring, marking assignments, supervising research projects, and grading examination scripts. The tutors have raised concerns, accusing the institution of exploiting their labour for negligible compensation.

The affected lecturers said they have yet to be paid for work conducted during the August–November 2024 semester, despite having submitted their claims in November last year.

"We submitted our claims in November, and now, eight months later, we still haven't been paid. What kind of work arrangement is this? It doesn't make sense to dedicate oneself to such a job when the employer clearly doesn't value our efforts," lamented one lecturer.

They added that the most frustrating part is the paltry amounts they are eventually paid—if at all—despite the academic responsibilities they shoulder.

"Universities in this country have severely devalued academic labour. Sometimes it feels like we wasted our money pursuing these qualifications. With Master's and PhD degrees, we are earning less than gold panners and manual labourers. It feels as if education has become worthless in Zimbabwe," another lecturer said.

An internal inquiry made by some of the disgruntled tutors revealed that part-time lecturers across the country are still awaiting payment, with no clear date communicated for when they will receive their dues.

The lecturers further condemned the prevailing culture of wage delays and underpayment in state institutions, warning that labour rights in Zimbabwe are being eroded. Attempts to protest or strike are often met with force, as heavily armed police are deployed to suppress demonstrations.