Teachers countrywide yesterday ignored a call to down tools, indicating they were warming up to dialogue and Government’s interventions to cushion them from economic challenges.
The failure of the billed strike action was a major setback for the Zimbabwe Teachers’ Association (Zimta) and the Progressive Teachers’ Union of Zimbabwe (PTUZ) that had insisted on the job action.
By Monday, though, most teachers’ unions had called off the strike after they met Primary and Secondary Education Minister Professor Paul Mavima.
Prof Mavima outlined to them a battery of interventions, including non-monetary incentives, that President Mnangagwa has rolled out to lessen the burden on the worker in the face of painful austerity measures being administered to ensure long-term economic recovery.
Apex Council organising secretary Mr Charles Chinosengwa yesterday said most schools recorded a 100 percent teacher turnout.
“We have been going around the schools to see if our members have heeded our call to give dialogue a chance and I can report that it was business as usual in our schools,” he said.
“We have visited high-density areas in Harare like Glen Norah, Mufakose, Highfield and Glen View and teachers and children are in class.
“If there were disturbances, it would be because of the heavy rains witnessed in the morning. We are encouraging our members to continue with their duties until we exhaust all the negotiating channels with Government. We will only declare a strike if Government fails to implement what we agreed on Monday.”
