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Teachers slams govt over civil servants' wages claim
2 hrs ago |
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The Amalgamated Rural Teachers Union of Zimbabwe (ARTUZ) has blasted government claims that civil servants are earning competitive salaries, describing the remarks as "an insult" to teachers struggling to survive on low wages.
The union also announced plans to stage a demonstration at the Ministry of Finance to demand a salary review and the restoration of genuine collective bargaining.
ARTUZ was reacting to remarks by Finance, Economic Development and Investment Promotion Deputy Minister Kudakwashe Mnangagwa, who told Parliament that even the lowest-paid civil servants now earn above the Poverty Datum Line and that government salaries have become competitive.
In a statement, Amalgamated Rural Teachers Union of Zimbabwe (ARTUZ) said the government's position did not reflect the reality faced by teachers across the country.
"The struggle for a living wage is the struggle for dignity," the union said. "The claim that civil servants are earning competitive salaries is a grave insult to teachers and public sector workers who continue to endure brutal economic exploitation."
ARTUZ said most teachers currently earn between US$250 and US$300 per month, which it argued is far below the cost of living in Zimbabwe.
According to the union, basic expenses such as rent, transport, food and medical aid push the minimum monthly cost of survival for a family to well above US$1 400, making the current wages unsustainable.
"By any objective regional comparison, these wages are neither competitive nor dignified," the union said.
The union also accused the government of undermining workers' constitutional rights by failing to implement genuine collective bargaining mechanisms.
ARTUZ said the continued use of the National Joint Negotiating Council (NJNC) as a consultation platform instead of a bargaining forum allows the state to impose wage decisions unilaterally.
The union said teachers would march to the Ministry of Finance to register their grievances and demand a salary review aligned with the real cost of living.
"Teachers are not beggars. Teachers are workers whose labour produces the intellectual foundation of society," the union said.
"When teachers are impoverished, the entire nation is impoverished."
The union also announced plans to stage a demonstration at the Ministry of Finance to demand a salary review and the restoration of genuine collective bargaining.
ARTUZ was reacting to remarks by Finance, Economic Development and Investment Promotion Deputy Minister Kudakwashe Mnangagwa, who told Parliament that even the lowest-paid civil servants now earn above the Poverty Datum Line and that government salaries have become competitive.
In a statement, Amalgamated Rural Teachers Union of Zimbabwe (ARTUZ) said the government's position did not reflect the reality faced by teachers across the country.
"The struggle for a living wage is the struggle for dignity," the union said. "The claim that civil servants are earning competitive salaries is a grave insult to teachers and public sector workers who continue to endure brutal economic exploitation."
ARTUZ said most teachers currently earn between US$250 and US$300 per month, which it argued is far below the cost of living in Zimbabwe.
According to the union, basic expenses such as rent, transport, food and medical aid push the minimum monthly cost of survival for a family to well above US$1 400, making the current wages unsustainable.
"By any objective regional comparison, these wages are neither competitive nor dignified," the union said.
The union also accused the government of undermining workers' constitutional rights by failing to implement genuine collective bargaining mechanisms.
ARTUZ said the continued use of the National Joint Negotiating Council (NJNC) as a consultation platform instead of a bargaining forum allows the state to impose wage decisions unilaterally.
The union said teachers would march to the Ministry of Finance to register their grievances and demand a salary review aligned with the real cost of living.
"Teachers are not beggars. Teachers are workers whose labour produces the intellectual foundation of society," the union said.
"When teachers are impoverished, the entire nation is impoverished."
Source - Newsday
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