Africa-Press – Zimbabwe. The Zimbabwe Teachers Association (ZIMTA), which is reportedly the largest union representing teachers, has implored the government to increase teachers’ salaries to at least US$700 to improve their living standards.
Speaking to NewsDay, ZIMTA secretary-general Goodwill Taderera said that the Government should improve their salaries before schools open next year. He said:
Right now, we know that we are supposed to be getting upwards US$1 000, but teachers have not been able to get even half of that.
We hope that this time around, the government will meaningfully improve our salaries by giving us at least US$700.
Our last proposal was US$800 and we appreciate how the government involves us during social dialogue.
We hope the government (continues) to prioritise social dialogue that will yield positive results.
Taderera said that they have written to the government requesting to be invited to the negotiating table but they haven’t received any response as yet.
The Government has repeatedly refused to meet teachers’ salary demands citing resource constraints.
Teachers currently earn less than US$100 in local currency and US$300 in COVID-19 allowances per month.
The Minister of Finance Mthuli Ncube announced in the 2024 National Budget that the allowance will be converted to a pensionable salary.
The pay dispute between the Government and teachers goes back to October 2018, when the Government stopped paying teachers in United States dollars, switching to the reintroduced Zimbabwean dollar.
The pre-October 2018 salaries for civil servants was US$540.
The new currency has steadily lost value, effectively reducing teachers’ wages.
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