"128 Teachers Dying Every Month Due To Poor Salaries"
The Progressive Teachers Union of Zimbabwe (PTUZ) has said approximately 128 teachers are dying each month across the country due to stress caused by low salaries and poor working conditions.
In a statement, PTUZ president Takavafira Zhou said that the meagre salaries have led to a concerning rise in cases of suicide, divorce, and domestic violence among teachers. Said Zhou:
Poverty and its resultant psycho-social effects are killing many teachers across Zimbabwe.
There has been a quantum leap of suicides, fatal domestic quarrels and divorces as a result of poor salaries in Zimbabwe.
Our research has shown that on average two teachers are dying in every district every month because of poverty and psycho-social stress. Cumulatively, 128 teachers are dying every month and 1,536 every year…
There is an urgent need to intervene by the line ministry, Public Service Commission (PSC) and government to ameliorate the high rate of attrition.
The intervention must be in the form of paying teachers a living wage rather than the current starvation wages they are receiving.
President Emmerson Mnangagwa will go down in history as a President who caused the death of many teachers in Zimbabwe through starvation.
Before October 2018, teachers and other civil servants earned approximately US$540 per month. However, in October 2018, their salaries were converted to the local currency.
Currently, teachers are receiving around US$250 per month, plus less than ZiG2 000. The ZiG, however, cannot buy fuel and basic grocery items from the popular tuckshops.
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