News / Local
War of words erupts between govt and teachers over strike
09 Feb 2022 at 05:17hrs | Views
GOVERNMENT has threatened to fire teachers who failed to report for duty on Monday and Tuesday, triggering an angry backlash from union leaders.
Teachers unions declared their members were incapacitated and could only go back to work after their salaries were increased to an equivalent of US$540.
Other unions are advocating for salaries to be paid in the real greenback.
On both Monday and Tuesday, leaners were turned away by security guards and clerks after the majority of teachers failed to turn up.
This prompted Primary and Secondary Education secretary Tumisang Thabela to issue a strongly worded statement warning that teachers who did not report for duty when schools opened on Monday would be charged and suspended from work.
"It has come to the attention of the permanent secretary of Primary and Secondary Education that some officials did not report for duty when schools opened on 7 February 2022 as the 2022 school calendar. This unwarranted conduct deprived learners of their right to education as enshrined in Section 75 and 81 of the Constitution of Zimbabwe," the statement reads.
"Accordingly, heads of offices should take urgent disciplinary action against any of their members who obstructed the opening of schools and deprived learners of their constitutional right. Where necessary, heads of offices should charge and suspend such members at the school, district, provincial or national level and ensure that all due processes are followed as per Public Service Regulations 2000 as amended. Officials are reminded that the principle of "no work, no pay" shall apply where members failed to render their services."
Thabela directed provincial education directors to provide a daily update on progress in handling the disciplinary cases in their respective provinces.
Teachers' unions however remained adamant, dismissing the threats as "desperate attempts to get them back to work".
Zimbabwe Teachers' Association chief executive officer Sifiso Ndlovu said teachers are not disciplinary cases but are victims of an economy which is making it difficult for them to work.
"Any sane employer will then not desperately resort to picking up a stick and weeping the teachers hoping that the results will be positive. That is the wrong approach they are applying, and it is bound to bring about a more intense environment and therefore, heighten the situation into an industrial conflict. Nobody declared an industrial action. We merely expressed the state of the teachers' economy," Ndlovu said.
Progressive Teachers Union of Zimbabwe (PTUZ) secretary-general Raymond Majongwe weighed in saying: "We made our point very clear that no teacher is on strike or was on strike. What teachers did was to communicate a very clear message to the government that they are totally incapacitated to turn up or report for duty as of the seventh."
"The truth of the matter is, what the government is doing is that they are purely shooting themselves in the foot and technically they are proving to us that they are not keen on solving the problems that the teachers have submitted to them. Teachers are suffering. They can't pay school fees for their children, feed themselves," Majongwe said.
The strongest condemnation however came from the Zimbabwe National Union of School Heads (ZNUSH) which expressed dismay at government's threats.
the union said in a statement headmasters would not cooperate with government's directive to report teachers who are failing to report for duty.
"Members do not have the means to take them to work and neither do they have the capacity to to carry out duties expected of them, knowing fully well that their own biological children cannot attend classes because of lack of fees," ZNUSH said.
"We are appalled to learn that the ministry will take us to the gallows just for asking for the same salary that we got when the economy was not as good as it is now. Heads and deputy heads shall not comply with the illegal order of of submitting names of incapacitated teachers for victimisation," it added.
Teachers unions declared their members were incapacitated and could only go back to work after their salaries were increased to an equivalent of US$540.
Other unions are advocating for salaries to be paid in the real greenback.
On both Monday and Tuesday, leaners were turned away by security guards and clerks after the majority of teachers failed to turn up.
This prompted Primary and Secondary Education secretary Tumisang Thabela to issue a strongly worded statement warning that teachers who did not report for duty when schools opened on Monday would be charged and suspended from work.
"It has come to the attention of the permanent secretary of Primary and Secondary Education that some officials did not report for duty when schools opened on 7 February 2022 as the 2022 school calendar. This unwarranted conduct deprived learners of their right to education as enshrined in Section 75 and 81 of the Constitution of Zimbabwe," the statement reads.
"Accordingly, heads of offices should take urgent disciplinary action against any of their members who obstructed the opening of schools and deprived learners of their constitutional right. Where necessary, heads of offices should charge and suspend such members at the school, district, provincial or national level and ensure that all due processes are followed as per Public Service Regulations 2000 as amended. Officials are reminded that the principle of "no work, no pay" shall apply where members failed to render their services."
Thabela directed provincial education directors to provide a daily update on progress in handling the disciplinary cases in their respective provinces.
Teachers' unions however remained adamant, dismissing the threats as "desperate attempts to get them back to work".
Zimbabwe Teachers' Association chief executive officer Sifiso Ndlovu said teachers are not disciplinary cases but are victims of an economy which is making it difficult for them to work.
"Any sane employer will then not desperately resort to picking up a stick and weeping the teachers hoping that the results will be positive. That is the wrong approach they are applying, and it is bound to bring about a more intense environment and therefore, heighten the situation into an industrial conflict. Nobody declared an industrial action. We merely expressed the state of the teachers' economy," Ndlovu said.
Progressive Teachers Union of Zimbabwe (PTUZ) secretary-general Raymond Majongwe weighed in saying: "We made our point very clear that no teacher is on strike or was on strike. What teachers did was to communicate a very clear message to the government that they are totally incapacitated to turn up or report for duty as of the seventh."
"The truth of the matter is, what the government is doing is that they are purely shooting themselves in the foot and technically they are proving to us that they are not keen on solving the problems that the teachers have submitted to them. Teachers are suffering. They can't pay school fees for their children, feed themselves," Majongwe said.
The strongest condemnation however came from the Zimbabwe National Union of School Heads (ZNUSH) which expressed dismay at government's threats.
the union said in a statement headmasters would not cooperate with government's directive to report teachers who are failing to report for duty.
"Members do not have the means to take them to work and neither do they have the capacity to to carry out duties expected of them, knowing fully well that their own biological children cannot attend classes because of lack of fees," ZNUSH said.
"We are appalled to learn that the ministry will take us to the gallows just for asking for the same salary that we got when the economy was not as good as it is now. Heads and deputy heads shall not comply with the illegal order of of submitting names of incapacitated teachers for victimisation," it added.
Source - NewZimbabwe
