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The Amalgamated Rural Teachers Union (ARTUZ) has demanded that the Government respect civil servants by giving them meaningful US dollar salaries.
This comes after the Government unilaterally awarded civil servants a pay rise believed to be US$50.
Speaking to <a href="https://businesstimes.co.zw/civil-servants-reject-us50-increment-offer/">Business Times</a>, ARTUZ president Obert Masaraure said the Government awarded civil servants a US$50 salary increment without consulting them. He said:
<blockquote>
The government of [President] Emmerson Mnangagwa has always disregarded the fundamental rights of the workers after his Labour Minister Paul Mavima announced a salary rise of US$50 without consulting the workers.
Ordinarily, we would have discussed this offer on the collective bargaining platform but unfortunately (Minister of Public Service, Labour and Social Welfare, Paul) Mavima doesn’t respect the NJNC. We have rejected the NJNC and the minister doesn’t care.
We didn’t just reject the US$50 but the whole process that the government has been insisting on this illegal process we have rejected (it).
</blockquote>
Zimbabwe Congress of Public Sector Trade Unions (ZCPSTU) secretary-general David Dzatsunga told Business Times that they wanted a US$150 increment to keep up with the rising cost of living.
He said civil servants have been pushing for US$540 per month and expected an increment in the range of between US$100 and US$150 per month.
The least paid civil servant is said to be earning US$250 and ZWL$130 000 a month.
More: <a href="https://www.pindula.co.zw/">Pindula News</a>

Pindula News

Teachers Reject US$50 Salary Increment Offer

Zimbabwe’s economic challenges, high inflation and the rising cost of living are driving civil servants and ordinary people to suicide.
The Amalgamated Teachers’ Union of Zimbabwe (ARTUZ) last week said a deputy school head and mother of three, Miriam Manyarara, from Mwenezi District in the Masvingo Province took her own life due to “slave wages”.
Manyarara was reportedly found hanging in her house by colleagues after collecting her salary.
Speaking to <a href="https://www.timeslive.co.za/news/africa/2023-06-26-zimbabwe-union-flags-mental-health-concern-due-to-economic-hardship/">TimesLive</a>, ARTUZ president Obert Masaraure said that teachers and civil servants are suffering in silence. He said:
<blockquote>
It is very unfortunate that we have a serious mental health crisis in Zimbabwe that is not being attended to.
We have a serious issue of underpayment which triggers mental health illness.
Unfortunately, we have teachers who are taking their lives, and police officers who are taking their lives.
They are underpaid and no one is paying attention to their urgent needs. People are suffering in silence and committing suicide.
As a union, we urge the government of the day to have policy interventions that can address the crisis and to pay teachers and other civil servants a living wage to enable them to deal with the challenges they face daily.
</blockquote>
Recently a police officer who had been taken to Parirenyatwa Hospital in Harare hanged himself after telling doctors his salary was too low to support his family.
There are 135 000 teachers employed in Zimbabwean public schools and they earn about ZWL$100 000 in Zimbabwe dollars and a monthly allowance of US$250.
Over the weekend, Public Service and Social Welfare Minister Paul Mavima said the Government is looking at giving public sector workers a new salary package to “cushion them from the rising cost of living”. He said:
<blockquote>
We are looking at all possibilities including effecting an increase of US dollars as well as a pay increase in local currency.
</blockquote>
Civil servants are demanding US$840 per month for the lowest-paid Government employee.
More: <a href="https://www.pindula.co.zw/">Pindula News</a>

Zim's Economic Challenges Driving Civil Servants To Suicide - Teachers' Union

The Amalgamated Rural Teachers Union of Zimbabwe (ARTUZ) has suspended one of its members in Masvingo over suspected links to ZANU PF-linked groups.
ARTUZ Masvingo provincial spokesperson Kudakwashe Runeso was suspended for allegedly participating in activities organised by ZANU PF’s shadowy groups.
Several ZANU PF-linked groups such as Teachers4ED and the <a href="https://pindula.co.zw/Forever_Associates_Zimbabwe">Forever Associate Zimbabwe</a> (FAZ) have sprouted to push for President Emmerson Mnangagwa’s re-election.
A suspension letter addressed to Runesu seen by <a href="https://www.thestandard.co.zw/news/article/200013209/union-leader-booted-out-over-zanu-pf-links">The Standard</a> showed that the union leader was being removed from his post with immediate effect pending further investigations. Part of the letter reads:
<blockquote>
Having received a report from Masvingo provincial leadership on your involvement in working with retrogressive groupings created by the state to thwart and undermine unions, a decision of you being suspended from being an ARTUZ member and from your current position as the Masvingo provincial spokesperson has been adopted.
This suspension is with immediate effect and you shall be served with dates and all relevant material to prepare for your disciplinary hearing.
</blockquote>
ARTUZ president <a href="https://pindula.co.zw/Obert_Masaraure">Obert Masaraure</a> confirmed Runesu’s suspension. He said:
<blockquote>
I am told by our secretary general (Robson Chere) that they received a recommendation to suspend the member from Masvingo province.
It is alleged that the member was engaging in conduct that is inimical to the values of the union.
Investigations are ongoing and a disciplinary hearing will be conducted.
</blockquote>
ARTUZ was founded in 2002 and advocates for the rights and welfare of rural teachers and promotes quality education for all children in Zimbabwe.
More: <a href="https://www.pindula.co.zw/">Pindula News</a>

Teachers' Union Leader Suspended Over ZANU PF Links

The Amalgamated Rural Teachers Union of Zimbabwe (ARTUZ) has blamed Finance and Economic Development Minister Mthuli Ncube’s economic policies for the death of a female school head who allegedly committed suicide.
ARTUZ said one Mrs. Muzenda, the Deputy school head at Sarahuru Primary School in Mwenezi took her own life due to “slave wages”. <a href="https://twitter.com/ARTUZ_teachers/status/1671104730083328002">The teachers’ union said</a>:
<blockquote>
[Mthuli Ncube] policies have killed Mrs. Mzenda the D/Head at Sarahuru Primary Mwenezi. She committed suicide. Slave wages are the new guillotine claiming our Teachers.
The government of [President Emmerson Mnangagwa is presiding over the killing of civil servants and untold suffering for those who live on!
</blockquote>
In February 2022, teachers embarked on a week-long strike, demanding the restoration of their pre-October 2018 salaries when they earned US$540.
The Government responded by awarding civil servants a token salary increment and suspended scores of teachers for taking part in the job action.
Currently, teachers, like other civil servants, are earning US$250 in allowances per month while their RTGS salary is less than US$50.
Meanwhile, <a href="https://www.pindula.co.zw/2023/06/18/missing-headmaster-found-dead-near-dam/">the Gwindingwi Secondary School headmaster Stanford Tsindikwa was recently found dead</a> near Rusape Dam in a case of suspected suicide.
Tsindikwa was reported missing after he allegedly made several calls and sent text messages to his wife informing her about his intention to take his own life.
Below are some suicide warning signs suicidal thoughts by <a href="https://www.mayoclinic.org/diseases-conditions/suicide/symptoms-causes/syc-20378048">Mayo Clinic</a>:
<ul>
<li>Talking about suicide — for example, making statements such as “I’m going to kill myself,” “I wish I were dead” or “I wish I hadn’t been born”</li>
<li>Getting the means to take your own life, such as buying a gun or stockpiling pills</li>
<li>Withdrawing from social contact and wanting to be left alone</li>
<li>Having mood swings, such as being emotionally high one day and deeply discouraged the next</li>
<li>Being preoccupied with death, dying or violence</li>
<li>Feeling trapped or hopeless about a situation</li>
<li>Increasing use of alcohol or drugs</li>
<li>Changing normal routine, including eating or sleeping patterns</li>
<li>Doing risky or self-destructive things, such as using drugs or driving recklessly</li>
<li>Giving away belongings or getting affairs in order when there’s no other logical explanation for doing this</li>
<li>Saying goodbye to people as if they won’t be seen again</li>
<li>Developing personality changes or being severely anxious or agitated, particularly when experiencing some of the warning signs listed above.</li>
</ul>
More: <a href="https://www.pindula.co.zw/">Pindula News</a>

Teachers Blame Mthuli Ncube For Deputy Headmistress' Suicide

The Amalgamated Rural Teachers Union of Zimbabwe (ARTUZ) says that Continuous Assessment Learning Activities (CALA) are expensive and time-consuming and their introduction in schools has negatively affected learners’ progress.
ARTUZ spokesperson Thembakuye Moyo said CALA have widened the gap between learners from economically disadvantaged learners and those from privileged backgrounds.
Moyo called for the reviewing of CALA to accommodate all learners considering that those in rural areas have inadequate digital learning facilities to conduct research as required by CALA. Moyo said:
<blockquote>
Since their introduction in schools, CALAs have proven to be costly and time-consuming thereby negatively affecting learners’ progress.
Most CALAs require the use of the internet for research which then imposes costs of mobile data, laptops, and mobile devices, etc on top of the regular hiking fees.
In a country where the majority of the citizens are living in poverty, they widen the learning inequality gap as those from privileged backgrounds will be the only ones that can afford to learn.
Paying particular attention to the rural learner, the majority of schools have inadequate digital learning facilities to enable students to carry out their CALA.
It is the Union’s position that CALAs should be reformed in order to ensure effective learning in schools.
</blockquote>
The Ministry of Primary and Secondary Education has been conducting countrywide reviews on CALA.
Some stakeholders, particularly parents and guardians, have called for the scrapping of CALA arguing they are struggling with the high cost of living and cannot afford to provide their children with the resources needed to do the CALA.
More: <a href="https://www.pindula.co.zw/">Pindula News</a>

Rural Teachers' Union Says CALAs Have Hindered Learners' Progress

The Amalgamated Rural Teachers Union of Zimbabwe (ARTUZ) says the decision by the Zimbabwe School Examination Council (ZIMSEC) to open a mop-up registration window for November candidates does not go far enough in addressing the plight of children from disadvantaged backgrounds.
ARTUZ suggested that ZIMSEC should allow all prospective candidates to register and then the public examinations management body comes up with ways of getting the fees from the Government and parents. ARTUZ said:
<blockquote>
The mop-up exercise by [ZIMSEC] will not address the exclusion of the poor from sitting for public examinations.
Registration for examinations shouldn’t be tied to any fee, ZIMSEC should devise means of recovering their monies from the Government and parents after registering all learners.
</blockquote>
On 17 April 2023, ZIMSEC announced that it will open a mop-up registration window to allow candidates who failed to register before 14 April to be able to register.
ZIMSEC said the window will be open from the 8th to the 12th of May 2023. Part of the statement read:
<blockquote>
ZIMSEC will carry out a registration mop-up exercise from Monday 8 May 2023 to Friday 12 May 2023 to allow centres to ensure that all their candidates have been registered for the November 2023 examinations.
Candidates who wish to sit for their examinations should ensure that they register at their centre of choice during this period.
Examination registration fees during that window are pegged according to the normal registration.
The registration fees are accepted in the currency parents and guardians are comfortable paying in.
For parents who wish to pay in ZWL, payments will be made at the prevailing exchange rate which will be communicated on Friday, 5 May 2023.
</blockquote>
ARTUZ is a trade union that advocates for better working conditions and salaries for rural teachers, who often work in difficult circumstances with limited resources. 
The union has been involved in various protests and strikes to draw attention to the challenges faced by rural teachers and to push for reforms in the education sector.
More: <a href="https://zero.pindula.co.zw/">Pindula News</a>

ZIMSEC Registration Mop-up Exercise Insufficient - Teachers

The Amalgamated Rural Teachers Union of Zimbabwe (ARTUZ) has rubbished claims by Deputy Minister of Primary and Secondary Education, Edgar Moyo, that school authorities working in cahoots with police were responsible for the leakage of public examination papers.
In 2022, some candidates had access to Zimbabwe School Examination Council (ZIMSEC) English Language and Mathematics examination papers several days before they were written.
Speaking during the question and answer session in the Senate on 29 March, Moyo said investigations by the Ministry of Education established that the exam leaks happen at schools. He said:
<blockquote>
We also have the police officers who are there and when these papers are being removed from the strong room to the classroom for invigilation, it is not one person who takes those papers.
The whole system is water-tight in terms of security. We have integrity issues with some of our personnel at the school level and where the papers leaked, there was a kind of working together in cahoots by officials at the school.
When people agree and connive to do a crime, usually they will succeed because there is no one who is going to let the cat out of the bag.
</blockquote>
Responding to Moyo’s remarks, ARTUZ said marking schemes and soft copies of the examination papers were leaked on social media platforms, yet schools were never in possession of the documents. ARTUZ said in a statement:
Moyo lied to Senate that exams leak at the School level. We saw marking schemes in circulation. Do schools receive marking schemes?
We saw soft copies of exam papers. Do schools receive soft copies? Our policy brief on exam leakages is accurate.
Last year, <a href="https://zero.pindula.co.zw/school-heads-blame-zimsec-for-exam-leakages/">the National Association of Secondary Heads (NASH) pointed at ZIMSEC as the main source of the problem</a>, rather than schools.
According to <a href="https://zero.pindula.co.zw/police-suspect-zimsec-head-office-is-the-source-of-exam-leakages/">a leaked police memorandum, dated 19 October 2022</a>, police said they suspected the soft copies of the papers are leaked by someone at the ZIMSEC head office in Harare.
Last year, 5 156 Advanced and Ordinary level candidates’ results were nullified for having pre-access to examination papers.
The A-Level results were released on 13 January with ZIMSEC withholding results for 195 candidates while the ‘O’ Level ones, where results for 4 961 candidates were nullified.
More: <a href="https://zero.pindula.co.zw/">Pindula News</a>

Schools Not Responsible For Exam Leakages - ARTUZ

Teacher unions say the Zimbabwe School Examinations Council (ZIMSEC) Ordinary and Advanced Level examination fees are too high and some learners may fail to continue with their education.
ZIMSEC set the 2023 examination fees at US$24 per subject but candidates will pay US$11, while the government pays the balance.
Advanced Level examination fees are at US$48, with candidates paying US$22, while the government pays the balance.
In a statement, the Amalgamated Rural Teachers Union of Zimbabwe (ARTUZ) said civil servants will struggle to raise the examination fees for their children. Reads part of the statement:
<blockquote>
ZIMSEC pegged its registration fees to an equivalent of US$24 dollars per subject. This gives an average Ordinary Level candidate the cost burden of US$120 for a minimum of five subjects.
This is occurring in a context where the average civil servant is earning close to US$150 per month, hence making the examination fee way above their means.
It also means that the average learner will require more than four months to raise adequate funds to register for examinations while the Friday, April 14 deadline leaves students with less than six days to pay.
</blockquote>
Progressive Teachers Union of Zimbabwe president Takavafira Zhou concurred.
Speaking to <a href="https://www.newsday.co.zw/local-news/article/200010004/teachers-lament-inhumane-exorbitant-zimsec-fees">NewsDay</a>, Zhou said ZIMSEC should extend the registration deadline to give parents and guardians more time to raise the required examination fees. He said:
<blockquote>
The shift by ZIMSEC from US$22 to US$24 will heap burning coals upon the heads of thousands of Zimbabwean parents.
It is prudent for ZIMSEC to realise that many pupils will drop out of school due to exorbitant school fees.
Government must, therefore, make an urgent intervention to ensure that pupils can register for examinations.
Above all, the period of registration is too short, and an extension until schools open will provide parents with a breathing space to hunt for examination fees.
</blockquote>
Examination registration fees are pegged in USD and parents can make payments in ZWL, USD or ZAR.
More: <a href="https://zero.pindula.co.zw/">Pindula News</a>

ZIMSEC Examination Fees "Unhumane" - Teachers

Three-quarters of Zimbabwean teachers are suffering from stress-related challenges due to poor salaries and working conditions, a report has shown.
According to preliminary research findings by the Progressive Teachers Union of Zimbabwe (PTUZ), at least 75% of Zimbabwean teachers are stressed.
The findings further show that all teachers have mentally resigned from their jobs even though physically, they remain at their workplaces.
PTUZ president Takavafira Zhou told <a href="https://www.newsday.co.zw/local-news/article/200007833/75-of-zim-teachers-experiencing-mental-health-challenges-survey">NewsDay</a> that the survey was conducted on a national level through zonal, district, and provincial discussions with several school representatives. Zhou said:
<blockquote>
Due to stress-related challenges, cases of conflict in schools have escalated, with 75% of teachers suffering from stress-related challenges leading to an increase in alcoholism and suicide cases.
There is a need for urgent intervention by the government in order to protect the education system from total collapse and degeneration.
Such a reprieve must ensure that teachers are paid a living wage as professionals. 
It is criminal to entrust the education system to angry, miserable and poorly-paid teachers.
… The level of underpayment of teachers in Zimbabwe has reached an unprecedented scale.
Teachers have fallen from grace to grass with monotonous regularity under the so-called new dispensation.
</blockquote>
Amalgamated Rural Teachers Union of Zimbabwe (ARTUZ) president Obert Masaraure told NewsDay that a mental health crisis is brewing in the education sector. He said:
<blockquote>
Our schools are being manned by people who should be at rehabilitation centres.
The surge in violence and drug abuse in schools is evidence of a deep-rooted mental health crisis.
Teachers have been on sick leave from Monday to Wednesday nursing stress after the payday insult of February 17.
</blockquote>
Last year, teachers went on strike demanding the restoration of their pre-October 2018 salary of US$540 to make ends meet.
According to the labour unions, teachers are currently earning below ZWL$50 000 and an additional US$200 in allowances.

"75% Of Zimbabwean Teachers Experiencing Stress Related Challenges"

The Amalgamated Rural Teachers Union of Zimbabwe (ARTUZ) has reiterated its demand for the restoration of teachers’ pre-October 2018 salaries of US$540.00.
In a letter dated 9 January 2022 addressed to the Public Service Commission (PSC), ARTUZ Secretary General Robson Chere said a meeting between the Commission and teacher unions should be convened to address teachers’ incapacitation. Wrote Chere:
<blockquote>
We write to remind you that the incapacitation of teachers remains unaddressed and is an obstacle to the efficient discharge of duties by teachers.
As the schools open this January of 2023, Our members have advised us to engage you on the need to restore the salaries to pre-October 2018 figures of USD $540.
As a Trade Union, we are also passionate about the development of the Education sector in our country and we are alarmed by the continued prejudice of learners who continue to suffer, as long as this matter remains unaddressed.
Even the development of our nation is being compromised as each year students with potential do not get the best from their teachers.
We implore your office to give this matter the urgency it deserves.
We reiterate our call for a legitimate conversation between yourselves and bona fide workers’ representatives from the education sector.
</blockquote>

Rural Teachers Write To PSC, Reiterate Demand For Restoration Of US$540 Salaries

The Amalgamated Rural Teachers’ Union of Zimbabwe (ARTUZ) has demanded the nullification of the November 2022 Ordinary and Advanced Level Zimbabwe School Examinations Council (ZIMSEC) examinations.
This comes after five hundred and eighty-eight (588) candidates were caught cheating while sitting for the examinations.
In a post on Twitter, ARTUZ alleged that some candidates were reproducing the ZIMSEC marking scheme word to word, with some schools recording uniform answers. <a href="https://twitter.com/ARTUZ_teachers/status/1605173541841911808">ARTUZ said</a>:
<blockquote>
[The police] will have to nab more cheats. The cheating is beyond measure. We are learning that learners were reproducing the ZIMSEC marking scheme word to word.
Uniform answers whole school. We can’t conceal this. We should protect the integrity of our public exams. CID at UCE [United College of Education] in [Bulawayo] now.
</blockquote>
In <a href="https://twitter.com/ARTUZ_teachers/status/1605181866344353792">another tweet</a>, ARTUZ said “We call upon [ZIMSEC] to nullify these examinations. The whole exercise is now turning out to be a joke.”
Last week on Thursday, the ZIMSEC deputy director Farai Zisengwe and the Ministry of Primary and Secondary Education Director Barnabas Mangosho appeared before the Parliamentary Portfolio Committee on Education led by Torerai Moyo.
Responding to legislators on the issue of the widespread leakage of examination papers, Zisengwe said:
<blockquote>
This is an issue that has not been concluded. We are doing the assessment and we are marking to identify these cheats.
About 588 candidates were caught along the way, but we believe there are more who will be caught during the marking period.
The board is going to be seized with the issue and we can confidently say Advanced Level results will be out in early January, but for Ordinary Level, we cannot say the same.
</blockquote>

Rural Teachers Demand Nullification Of 2022 ZIMSEC O' And A' Level Examinations

The Amalgamated Rural Teachers Union of Zimbabwe (ARTUZ) has unveiled a digital learning model for the benefit of learners in rural schools.
ARTUZ president Obert Masaraure said the model was being piloted in Binga District, in Matabeleland North Province. He said:
<blockquote>
This intervention ensures that we have uploaded all the content and all the books needed by learners and they have access to Wikipedia and access to all research materials from different academies created by teachers with videos on different subjects and all materials covered by the Zimbabwe School Examinations Council is there.
What this means is that when we commission the set of the server and other related materials to a particular school, they can connect their desktop to that local internet we would have created and they can be able to access these learning materials.
This is going to be a game changer, particularly in communities that have always been left out because even if there is no electricity, the server itself does not use much battery power.
It just needs five volts to set it running which means that even with a power bank, learners can be able to access the internet.
</blockquote>
Masaraure said the initiative is also meant to alleviate the challenges caused by a shortage of teachers and reading materials in many rural schools.
ARTUZ project technician Edwin Magaramombe said:
<blockquote>
I work with a volunteer organisation called Open Source Software, which campaigns on the idea that there is such a big digital divide across the world and this model will bridge the gap.
</blockquote>
At the height of the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020 and 2021, learners in rural schools missed out when e-learning was being promoted as an alternative to in-person classes which were suspended to curb the spread of the coronavirus. | <a href="https://www.newsday.co.zw/local-news/article/200004465/artuz-unveils-learning-model-for-rural-schools">NewsDay</a>

ARTUZ Unveils Learning Model For Rural Schools

Unions representing civil servants say their bonus in United States dollars is too little as they demand the restoration of their pre-October 2018 United States dollar salaries of $540.
A correspondence from the National Joint Negotiation Committee (NJNC) held on Monday reveals that civil servants will get their bonus including a flat US$200 presidential bonus. It reads:
<blockquote>
Payment of the 2022 bonus for deputy director level and grades below will be in US dollars as 100% of gross pensionable emoluments (basic salary, transport and housing allowance. An additional US$200 will be paid to every employee as a special presidential bonus.
The bonus will be paid in two equal tranches across all sectors starting from November, with the latest payment being in December.
</blockquote>
Amalgamated Rural Teachers Union of Zimbabwe (ARTUZ) president Obert Masaraure argued that paying in installments will further erode the purchasing power of the bonus. He said:
<blockquote>
The 100% bonus remains paltry because it is 100% of a paltry income. We insist that salaries should be adjusted to the pre-October 2018 level. Paying in installments will further erode the purchasing power of the bonus.
The parties who signed representing NJNC should be ashamed for sustaining an illegal platform for their own expediency.
Civil servants deserve a genuine collective bargaining platform in line with Convention 154 of ILO, best practices in the region and section 65(5) of our own Constitution.
The naming of an annual bonus as presidential shows that we are not serious as a nation.
What’s so presidential about that paltry amount? Someone somewhere is reducing the Office of the President to a joke.
</blockquote>
Zimbabwe Nurses Association (ZINA) president Enock Dongo called on the government to release the bonus once and not in tranches. Dongo said:
<blockquote>
We want to appeal to the government to pay the bonus at once in one month, not to divide it into two since it’s not much and also we are still asking for more.
The figure presented as a bonus is too little to thank the hardworking employees with.
</blockquote>
| <a href="https://www.newsday.co.zw/local-news/article/200003366/civil-servants-scoff-at-bonus-offer">NewsDay</a>

Special Presidential Bonus Too Little - Civil Servants

Teachers’ unions have rejected claims by ZANU PF that they were being funded by “hostile” embassies to destabilise the country’s education system.
A report by the ZANU PF central committee submitted to the party’s 7th National People’s Congress held recently claimed that teachers were being paid by “hostile” embassies to continue with strikes.
However, unions representing teachers have hit back at ZANU PF, saying the ruling party was trying to find a scapegoat for its alleged failures.
Over the past few years, teachers and other civil servants have been pressing the government to restore the pre-October 2018 salary of US$540.
Speaking to <a href="https://www.newsday.co.zw/local-news/article/200003165/teachers-hits-back-at-zanu-pf">NewsDay</a>, Amalgamated Rural Teachers Union of Zimbabwe (ARTUZ) president Obert Masaraure said:
<blockquote>
ZANU PF has no solutions to the education crisis and it is desperately trying to scapegoat unions for its failures.
At ARTUZ, we are seized with coming up with solutions to the education crisis. We recently published an alternative financing model for public education.
We hope the ruling party will engage with the document and we won’t be dragged into ZANU PF’s shadowboxing.
The country is desperate for leadership and the party should stop complaining about foreigners and start leading.
</blockquote>
Educators Union of Zimbabwe president Tafadzwa Munodawafa said ZANU PF was misinformed. Said Munodawafa:
<blockquote>
We do not know who misinforms ZANU PF as a party and we refuse to be drawn into politics.
We are not worried about who the ruling party of this country is. What we do, as unions, is to represent the issues that affect our members.
We are a professional body whose members simply want the employer to pay us a living wage and to stop inflicting labour rights abuses thereby setting the correct example to all employers in the industry in general.
My advice is that those responsible for information dissemination to all organisations, departments, or individuals on issues that concern educators have the responsibility of doing the proper thing as education is a sensitive nerve of any country.
It should be treated with utmost sincerity as we risk killing this profession for future generations.
The children we are teaching right now don’t desire to become teachers based on how the profession is being treated.
</blockquote>

ZANU PF Scapegoating Teachers - Unions

The Amalgamated Rural Teachers Union of Zimbabwe (ARTUZ) has called on the government to enact legislation that will ensure unlimited paid maternity leave for female teachers.
This comes after a female teacher was arrested recently and charged with misconduct for bringing her baby to school with her during learning.
The teacher, Mercy Kagone of Mudzimu High School allegedly brought her baby with her to school as she could not afford a domestic worker.
She was also charged with absenteeism at work and failure to invigilate the 2021 Zimbabwe Education Council (ZIMSEC) Ordinary level examinations twice.
The Ministry of Primary and Secondary Education described the teacher’s actions as “unbecoming or indecorous behaviour”.
In a statement on Wednesday, ARTUZ accused authorities of prosecuting the teacher, saying her salary is too little for her to afford a babysitter. ARTUZ said:
<blockquote>
We demand fully paid and unlimited maternity leave for workers. Ahead of the 16 days of activism, we believe administrative injustice like limited maternity leave should end.
We are outraged because a woman is being persecuted for playing the dual roles of being a professional teacher and a caregiver.
No woman should be subjected to this. The teacher cannot afford a childminder because of underpayment.
</blockquote>
The Director of Communications and Advocacy in the Ministry of Primary and Secondary Education Taungana Ndoro responded: “Has anyone ever brought a child to work?” | <a href="https://www.newsday.co.zw/local-news/article/200002979/artuz-pushes-for-unlimited-paid-maternity-leave">NewsDay</a>

Rural Teachers' Union Demand Unlimited Paid Maternity Leave

The Amalgamated Rural Teachers Union of Zimbabwe (ARTUZ) has criticised ZANU PF for alleged political indoctrination of learners amid reports that they are being forced to participate in the ruling party’s political events.
Earlier this week, hundreds of learners across the country missed lessons after they were reportedly forced to take part in anti-sanctions marches.
ARTUZ president Obert Masaraure said learners should be in class preparing for examinations and not being abused by politicians. Said Masaraure:
<blockquote>
The ruling party is disrupting learners when they are supposed to be preparing for examinations; this is the same government that is presiding over examination leaks and a serious education crisis.
It is sad to note that the learners being abused are the sons and daughters of working people.
The sons and daughters of the abusers are insulated in elite private schools and exotic learning centres.
</blockquote>
The Zimbabwe Peace Project (ZPP) claimed that ZANU PF directed schools in Harare to mobilise pupils to take part in ant-sanctions marches on 25 October.
However, speaking to <a href="https://www.newsday.co.zw/local-news/article/200002614/zanu-pf-politicising-education">NewsDay</a>, Primary and Secondary Education ministry spokesperson Taungana Ndoro denied that pupils were forced to march against sanctions. He said:
<blockquote>
We have not ordered anyone, but its common cause that civic education on the matter has taken root, and its beginning to strongly espouse Unesco`s definition that children should be educated to become clear-thinking and enlightened citizens who participate in their society’s decisions.
Therefore, as we embrace our curriculum, it follows that without coercion, schools are bent on voluntarily holding anti-sanction events and expressing the impact they have on their society.
</blockquote>

"ZANU PF Abusing Children Of The Poor"

The Amalgamated Rural Teachers Union of Zimbabwe (ARTUZ) has said the Basic Education Assistance Module (BEAM) programme has failed to cater for all schoolchildren who need financial assistance.
This year, the government set aside $4.1 billion for BEAM which caters for vulnerable children’s school fees, but only one-and-a-half million children have benefitted out of four million. In a report issued on Monday, ARTUZ said:
<blockquote>
The allocation of $2 700 per child per year is too little when the cheapest school is charging an average of $125 000 per year.
If we were to use the targeted number of 1.5 million, the 2022 allocation translates to $2 700 per year or $900 per term, a figure far from the prevailing school fees and levies.
Furthermore, there is evidence that the Beam programme has not been reaching the targeted numbers.
(Some) $2,294 billion was allocated for the school feeding programme targeting 6 000 schools in 2022 from 5 800 in 2021. Per capita allocation is therefore $740 per child, per year.
What food can be secured by this paltry amount? Even if we were to feed a child with US$1 per day, we will need at least US$180 per learner per year.
</blockquote>
Public Service minister Paul Mavima said his ministry has received a further $20 billion from Treasury and is in a position to pay fees for the beneficiaries for the second and third terms. He said:
<blockquote>
Fee hikes have nothing to do with BEAM. BEAM is not for boarding schools. It is mainly for primary schoolchildren and secondary schoolchildren.
Fee hikes, therefore, do not affect Beam. We now have an allocation of $20 billion, which will ensure that we catch up for the second and third terms.
</blockquote>
| <a href="https://www.newsday.co.zw/local-news/article/200002576/beam-has-failed-artuz">NewsDay</a>

Rural Teachers' Union Says BEAM Has Failed

Teachers’ unions have blamed the “structural and ethical decay” at the Zimbabwe Schools Examinations Council (ZIMSEC), and bad leadership in the government for recurring examination leakages.
Amalgamated Rural Teachers Union of Zimbabwe (ARTUZ) president Obert Masaraure said poor salaries are pushing ZIMSEC workers to engage in corrupt practices. Said Masaraure:
<blockquote>
The ZIMSEC exam papers scandal is a reflection of the structural and ethical decay developing in our education system as a result of bad salaries and leadership in both government and the education sector.
Bad salaries breed desperate workers, who then resort to corruption as a way to survive.
</blockquote>
Progressive Teachers Union (PTUZ) president, Takavafira Zhou, said ZIMSEC has lost all credibility. He said:
<blockquote>
The credibility of the ZIMSEC board is now in tatters. There is a clear lack of professionalism.
We want all children to write examinations which haven’t been leaked so that we measure their real potential.
</blockquote>
So far this year, two papers; Mathematics Paper 1 and English Paper 2 for Ordinary Level have leaked.
The Zimbabwe Republic Police (ZRP) revealed that so far eleven cases of exam leakages have been reported throughout the country. | <a href="https://www.newzimbabwe.com/teachers-blame-poor-salaries-leadership-crisis-for-zimsec-exam-papers-leak/">NewZimbabwe.com</a>

Teachers' Unions Blame "Structural And Ethical Decay" For Exam Leakages

Teachers’ unions have said they’re ready to listen to a realistic salary offer by the government. A statement seen by Pindula News states that teachers are also planning to down tools if the government does not table any offer by the end of September 2022. Reads the statement dated 25 September 2022:
<blockquote>
Dear Members
This note serves to inform you, as well as the Public Service Commission, and the Ministry of Primary and Secondary Education, that members of FOZEU (ARTUZ, EUZ, PTUZ and PEUZ) will not be able to report for work from 26 September. 
The latest offer by government to civil servants, a paltry $25 for the USD component only, is not enough to offset the herculian economic challenges facing our members. It is a known fact that our members were incapacitated before receiving their salaries, and remain incapacitated even after receiving the inconsequential salaries and the promised increment. 
We are calling on government to treat our situation with urgency and call for a realistic, all-inclusive meeting before the end of this coming week. We are also ready to listen to a realistic offer for our pauperized members.
If government has not tabled a realistic offer by the end of this month, we will take more robust action.
Yours faithfully
ARTUZ – Robson Chere +263 775643192 
EUZ – Tapedza Zhou +263 773612250
PEUZ – Wilson Makanyaire +263 773013406 
PTUZ – Raymond Majongwe +263 782702836
</blockquote>
<h2><a href="https://zero.pindula.co.zw/">Pindula News</a></h2>

Teachers Say They're "Ready To Listen To A Realistic Salary Offer"

Teachers’ unions have condemned the formation of a new union for teachers recently approved by the government with the moniker “Teachers for ED (Economic Development)”.
A circular dated 22 June 2022 written by the secretary of Primary and Secondary Education Tumisang Thabela to all provincial education directors revealed that the structures for the union were already in place in the country’s 10 provinces.
Speaking in an interview with NewsDay, Amalgamated Rural Teachers Union of Zimbabwe national secretary-general Robson Nikita Chere urged teachers to ignore the Teachers4ED union. Said, Chere:
<blockquote>
We urge the teachers to disregard, disapprove and dismiss the abuse of the teaching profession through commissariat schemes played by the regime under the guise of such unions.
Like any other worker or profession, teachers should be left free and distant from partisan politics except if it is voluntary.
The Constitution of Zimbabwe under sections 64 and 65 clearly makes a demand for good administrative conduct, and that means administrative conduct that is free from political intrusion.
… To come in dark garments of Teachers for ED and pretending to have solutions to our suffering is only aimed at harvesting votes from the education sector.
</blockquote>
Educators’ Union of Zimbabwe secretary-general Tapedza Zhou said:
<blockquote>
If teachers publicly align themselves to a certain political party, it will not only be prejudicial to their service but is a serious act of misconduct.
We condemn all moves that are divisive and discriminatory to teachers.
Government officials and party officials have an obligation to assist in ensuring that all teachers remain non-partisan as it is a precondition for the smooth delivery of service to the State.
</blockquote>
Progressive Teachers Union president Takavafira Zhou described the new union as “a masquerade”. Zhou said:
<blockquote>
Worse still this masquerade has solicited the Ministry of Primary and Secondary Education’s assistance in order to launch its provincial and national structures and was granted permission on 25 July 2022. Teachers must smell a rat.
</blockquote>
Primary and Secondary Education ministry spokesperson Taungana Ndoro authorising the formation of the Teachers for Economic Development union is in line with the government’s mantra, “Leaving Noone Behind”. He said:
<blockquote>
As an inclusive government that leaves no one behind, we have no objection to the formation of the new teachers’ union as its formation will greatly assist in the sustainability of teachers’ upper middle-income class status.
I can tell you for certain that with such kind of teachers’ unions that are focused on economic development, issues of teachers’ industrial action will soon be a thing of the past as these teachers utilise their skills for the economic emancipation and welfare of the nation.
</blockquote>
More: <a href="https://www.newsday.co.zw/2022/08/teachers-for-ed-union-formed/">NewsDay</a>

ARTUZ Urges Teachers To Ignore "Teachers4ED" Union

Amalgamated Rural Teachers Union (ARTUZ) president, Obert Masaraure, is spending the weekend in prison following his arrest on Friday.
According to the Zimbabwe Lawyers for Human Rights, Masaraure appeared at Harare Magistrates Court on Saturday for initial remand proceedings.
He has been charged with defeating or obstructing the course of justice as defined in Section 184(1)(c) of the Criminal Code, alternatively, incitement to commit public violence as defined in Section 187(1)(a) of Criminal Code as read with Section 36(1)(a) of Criminal Code.
Prosecutors alleged that Masaraure authored a statement that he published on Twitter and on the ARTUZ website which was meant to prejudice his pending trial and that of ARTUZ secretary-general Robson Chere and to persuade ARTUZ members and the general public to commit public violence.
Masaraure is represented by Tapiwa Muchineripi of the Zimbabwe Lawyers for Human Rights.
He returns to court on Monday, where his bail application is scheduled to be heard and determined.
Chere appeared before Harare magistrate, Yeukai Dzuda on Thursday to answer murder charges emanating from a 2016 incident.
The magistrate remanded him in custody and referred him to the High Court for bail consideration.

Rural Teachers' Union President Obert Masaraure Arrested

The Minister of Public Service and Social Welfare, Paul Mavima, has warned teachers against holding the nation at ransom by threatening to go on strike each time schools open.
Speaking to NewsDay on Friday, 29 April, Mavima said that the Government will not hesitate to invoke the “no-work, no-pay” policy for teachers who are planning to absent themselves when schools open next week. Mavima said:
<blockquote>
That’s not acceptable, we can’t have a situation whereby each time we are about to open schools, teachers say they want to go on strike. It doesn’t work like that.
There is a whole architecture of negotiations with the Public Service Commission and their federation, which meets Government to discuss conditions of service for civil servants.
So it’s not acceptable for teachers to hold the nation at ransom each time we open schools.
</blockquote>
However, teachers’ representatives insist that teachers are financially incapacitated and cannot report for work.
Amalgamated Rural Teachers Union of Zimbabwe (ARTUZ) president Obert Masaraure said:
<blockquote>
The Constitution provides for the right to strike. Mavima cannot criminalise the right to strike, and by the way, teachers never said they wanted to strike.
They are on collective job action because they are incapacitated. The cost of living is high and has made it impossible for teachers and other workers to commit themselves to their duties.
</blockquote>
Progressive Teachers Union of Zimbabwe (PTUZ) secretary-general Raymond Majongwe asked the Government to urgently honour its $20 000 fees promise.
Last term, the Government pledged $20 000 in school fees for teachers’ biological children and housing loans.
<h4>More: <a href="https://www.newsday.co.zw/2022/04/be-patient-teachers-told/">NewsDay</a></h4>

Govt Reminds Teachers Of "No-work, no-pay” Policy Ahead Of Second Term

The headmaster of Nyaradza Primary School in Gokwe is still working as a civil servant despite being elected Ward 19 councillor on a ZANU PF ticket.
Enock Chevedza is reportedly bullying teachers and threatening villagers, telling them that they will not receive food aid and agricultural inputs if ZANU PF loses in elections.
Section 200(4) of the Constitution prohibits civil servants from occupying a political office.
Chevedza should have resigned when he was elected councillor in 2018 yet, he is still a school head four years later.
A villager from Ward 19 who refused to be named told NewsDay that Chevedza was using his ZANU PF post to bully teachers. Said the villager:
<blockquote>
The Nyaradza Primary School headmaster was elected ward 19 councillor on a ZANU PF ticket.
He is victimising teachers using his political position. Every teacher is now afraid of him, and some are resigning.
</blockquote>
Chivedza allegedly uses the school premises as a venue to host ZANU PF rallies and meetings and other party-related events.
Meanwhile, a teacher at the school Timothy Sibanda, who is also the Midlands chairperson for the Educators Union of Zimbabwe blamed Chevedza for the cessation of his salary. Said Sibanda:
<blockquote>
I have gone for more than a year without a salary. The councillor is unfairly treating teachers who are not aligned with him.
I had my salary ceased last April after he used his political muscle to block due processes.
</blockquote>
Amalgamated Rural Teachers’ Union of Zimbabwe (ARTUZ) president Obert Masaraure said civil servants are supposed to resign as soon as they are elected to a political office. Said Masaraure:
<blockquote>
Civil servants are cleared by the Public Service Commission to contest elections and are expected to resign when they secure victory.
Partisan civil servants have a track record of abusing their authority and they have discriminatory tendencies.
Civil servants are allowed to enjoy the right to vote and be voted for but must resign as soon as they secure partisan office.
</blockquote>
<h4>More: <a href="https://www.newsday.co.zw/2022/04/headmaster-politician-refuses-to-quit-job/">NewsDay</a></h4>

Headmaster Councillor Bullying Teachers | Report

Teachers say the Government has failed to honour its promise to pay schools fees for their children, with the 2022 first term ending on 7 April.
Last month the Government pledged to pay school fees for children of teachers with a maximum of three children per teacher getting $20 000 each, per term.
Progressive Teachers Union of Zimbabwe (PTUZ) secretary-general Raymond Majongwe told NewsDay that teachers are yet to benefit from the facility. He said:
<blockquote>
There is nothing yet. Not even the disbursement template exists. Once again, the government is short-changing its employees.
There is neither a policy nor procedure to make the teachers benefit. The government now has a tendency of throwing benefits that benefit no one.
Last time there was a COVID-19 allowance that was meant to assist those who contracted the disease at work, but until today, none of the 1 588 of our members got a cent even after contracting the deadly disease while those from other ministries benefitted.
</blockquote>
Amalgamated Rural Teachers’ Union of Zimbabwe (ARTUZ) president Obert Masaraure also confirmed that the fees are yet to be paid. Said Masaraure:
<blockquote>
It is sad to note that the government promised benefits that have not materialised up to this time.
The government pledged to pay tuition fees for teachers’ children beginning March 1, but these fees are yet to be paid.
</blockquote>
However, Primary and Secondary Education ministry spokesperson Taungana Ndoro denied allegations that the Government had failed to fulfil its promise, saying the funds were still being processed. He said:
<blockquote>
It is not true that the government has failed to honour its pledge. Due process is being carried out and we have to wait for it to take place.
Remember we have a substantial number of teachers, over 140 000 of them and, therefore, due diligence cannot take place overnight.
</blockquote>
The Government made the pledge during a National Joint Negotiation Committee (NJNC) meeting after teachers went on strike citing incapacitation.
<h4>More: <a href="https://www.newsday.co.zw/2022/03/govt-teachers-in-fresh-showdown/">NewsDay</a></h4>

Govt Yet To Pay School Fees For Teachers' Children

Examiners marking the 2021 Zimbabwe Schools Examination Council (ZIMSEC) Ordinary Level examinations have threatened to strike over outstanding allowances.
Some of the examiners who spoke to New Zimbabwe expressed frustration over the US$0.50 per script they are being paid and are considering downing tools.
They want ZIMSEC to raise the amount currently being paid to US$1.00 per script and then pay them in US dollars, not at the prevailing interbank rate as has been the case.
Amalgamated Rural Teachers Union of Zimbabwe (ARTUZ) secretary-general Robson Chere confirmed the complaints raised by some of their members who are marking the O’ Level examinations. Said, Chere:
<blockquote>
Our members have made it clear that it would have been better if they were paid in hard currency not at the interbank exchange rate to augment the little they are already getting from the government.
We have received a number of complaints on this and we are hoping their calls for an increase are heard before they too go on strike as we do not want that to be the result at the end of the day.
</blockquote>
ZIMSEC spokesperson Nicholette Dlamini told New Zimbabwe that she was not aware of examiners’ complaints, saying marking of exams was going on smoothly. She said:
<blockquote>
We have not yet received such reports; if there are examiners that are disgruntled they should raise them with relevant authorities so that we are able to deal with their grievances.
If they are disgruntled we do not know the manner in which they are disgruntled as all our marking venues have recorded that they have enough examiners to go ahead with marking.
</blockquote>
<h4>More: <a href="https://www.newzimbabwe.com/zimsec-o-level-examiners-threaten-to-strike-over-unpaid-allowances/">New Zimbabwe</a></h4>

ZIMSEC O’ Level Markers Threaten To Strike Over Unpaid Allowances

Members of the Amalgamated Rural Teachers Union of Zimbabwe (ARTUZ) who were arrested in Harare on 12 January this year while protesting low salaries and poor working conditions have vowed to continue to demand fair wages.
The 16 ARTUZ members were charged with participating in a gathering with the intention to promote public violence, bigotry and breaches of peace as defined in Section 37(1)(a) of the Criminal Law (Codification and Reform) Act.
ARTUZ president Obert Masaraure, who was among the arrested, said they will not tire until the Government restores their US$540 pre-October 2018 salaries. Said Masaraure:
<blockquote>
The State only arrested our bodies, but our minds were free.
The salary situation of civil servants is just the same. We are fighting for those who arrested us, for those who are persecuting us and those who kept us here.
The teachers spent the whole weekend caged at the notorious remand prison, which ended up having a sewer burst on Saturday night, within the D class section, forcing officers to transfer dangerous criminals to Harare Central Prison.
</blockquote>
15 of the 16 of the teachers were on Monday granted $5 000 bail each while one of the protestors was granted free bail.
<h4>More: <a href="https://www.newsday.co.zw/2022/01/well-continue-pressing-for-better-salaries-teachers-say/">NewsDay</a></h4>

Rural Teachers Vow To Continue Pressing For Better Salaries

Statement by the Amalgamated Rural Teachers Union of Zimbabwe (ARTUZ) in response to indications that the Government will pay civil servants’ bonuses in foreign currency.
<blockquote>
The Amalgamated Rural Teachers Union of Zimbabwe (ARTUZ) takes note of the recent memo on the 3rd of November 2021 by finance secretary Mr Guvamatanga to the Public Service Commission in which indications were made that the 2021 bonus will be paid in United States Dollars, USD.
Whilst this is a welcome move as it temporarily alleviates workers from the dire situation they are in, we are appalled. that the bonuses are not capped at the original value of our salaries of pre-October 2018.
We also are strongly urging the government that any attempts to pay the bonuses at interbank rate will be resisted and the payment should be in USD across the board.
The payment of bonuses in USD vindicates the Union’s long-held position that the government of Zimbabwe has the capacity to pay its workers in USD but only lacks commitment.
We however take note that this victory could not have been possible had it not been out of consistent agitation by different groups of society including war veterans who recently staged protests in calling the government in addressing their welfare issues and that of the broader working class.
We are encouraged by their actions for they are testimony that they are still some out there who still hold sacred the values and ethos of the liberation struggle.
Further, we are aware of the machinations of some yellow unions who are celebrating this victory and playing public relations for the government as if it’s a product of their fighting when instead we know that true to their collaborationist fashion the government leaked this information to them prior to the announcement.
We remain hopeful that they in future will repent and give power to truth in the service of their members and the general working class.
We urge workers to continuously fight for their welfare concerns and labour justice and never outsource that responsibility to anyone.
As ARTUZ guided by our last NEC resolutions we are going to be withdrawing our labour starting from the 15the of November 2021 ending on 27 November.
This industrial action is informed by our consistent calls for the payment of our pre-October 2018 salaries and having separate contracts for invigilation that shall see us being paid in USD.
If the government does not immediately address our concerns our industrial action will continue until there is a resolution to the current crisis we find ourselves in.
We urge all educators and the broader working class to join us in this fight. We should not allow this current gimmick by the government to bribe us into pacification.
</blockquote>
<h4>More: <a href="https://news.pindula.co.zw/">Pindula News</a></h4>

Rural Teachers Speak On USD Bonus And Salary "Crisis" | FULL TEXT

The Amalgamated Rural Teachers Union of Zimbabwe (ARTUZ) has welcomed indications by Finance Secretary <a href="https://www.pindula.co.zw/George_Guvamatanga">George Guvamatanga</a> that civil servants’ bonuses for this year will be paid in foreign currency.
Guvamatanga revealed that <a href="https://zero.pindula.co.zw/us-dollar-bonuses-for-civil-servants-civil-service-pensioners/">civil servants will be paid their bonuses in foreign currency</a> up to a maximum of US$700 and civil service pensioners will receive bonus payments of US$100 plus an extra US$80 for spouses.
In a statement this Friday, ARTUZ said the development will temporarily alleviate workers from the dire situation they are in.
However, the union has expressed displeasure with the fact that the Government has not undertaken to base the bonuses on the civil servants’ pre-October 2018 salaries. The statement read:
<blockquote>
The Amalgamated Rural Teachers Union of Zimbabwe (ARTUZ) takes note of the recent memo on the 3rd of November 2021 by finance secretary Mr Guvamatanga to the Public Service Commission in which indications were made that the 2021 bonus will be paid in United States Dollars, USD.
Whilst this is a welcome move as it temporarily alleviates workers from the dire situation they are in, we are appalled that the bonuses are not capped at the original value of our salaries of pre-October 2018.
</blockquote>
ARTUZ also demanded that the bonuses should be paid in cash and vowed to resist if the Government decide to pay the bonuses in RTGS dollars converted at the interbank rate. Added the union:
<blockquote>
We also are strongly urging the government that any attempts to pay the bonuses at the interbank rate will be resisted and the payment should be in USD across the board.
The payment of bonuses in USD vindicates the Union’s long-held position that the government of Zimbabwe has the capacity to pay its workers in USD but only lacks commitment.
</blockquote>
Meanwhile, ARTUZ has taken a swipe at the Zimbabwe Teachers Union (ZIMTA), without identifying their rival by name, for celebrating the development and claiming that the Government has responded to their lobbying.
 ARTUZ accused ZIMTA of collaborating with the Government and receiving information prior to their statement on 8 November.
On 8 November, ZIMTA issued a statement demanding that the Government pay teachers their 13th cheque in United States dollars saying “teachers are sinking deeper into incapacitation each and every day, this is the only way to avert crushing them deeper into poverty and dysfunction.”
<h4>More: <a href="https://zero.pindula.co.zw/">Pindula News</a></h4>

Teachers Want USD Bonuses In Cash

The ZANU PF government has been accused of using its alleged surrogates to capture the Zimbabwe Congress of Trade Unions (ZCTU) through the election of new leadership sympathetic to the ruling party.
Florence Taruvinga, a technician with the state-owned power utility Zimbabwe Electricity Supply Authority (ZESA), defeated the incumbent Peter Mutasa who is viewed as an ally of MDC Alliance leader Nelson Chamisa.
Taruvinga, who becomes the first woman to become ZCTU president, garnered 73 votes against Mutasa’s 59 in elections held under controversial circumstances.
ZANU PF and MDC-T led by Douglas Mwonzora were quick to celebrate her victory.
Mwonzora is widely viewed in opposition and civil society circles as a ZANU PF “stooge”.
The Amalgamated Rural Teachers Union of Zimbabwe (ARTUZ) and the Footwear Tanners and Allied Workers’ Union delegates were stripped of their voting rights ahead of the congress under unclear circumstances.
ZCTU wrote to the two unions on 8 October advising them that their voting rights had been stripped based on a legal opinion from the labour body’s lawyers Muchadehama and Makono (MMM).
The two unions on 20 October represented by their lawyers Mtetwa and Nyambirai filed an urgent chamber application seeking the postponement of the elective conference until the issue of their voting rights was addressed.
Justice Fatima Maxwell ruled in favour of ZCTU, resulting in the holding of the elective congress.
Meanwhile, Doug Coltart, who followed the ZCTU election process closely as a lawyer for ARTUZ, said the elections were manipulated in favour of a pro-ZANU PF faction within ZCTU. Said Coltart:
<blockquote>
The story needs to be told. Essentially, it relates to the co-option of the ZCTU by the regime at the just-ended elective congress; some of the shenanigans that have gone on in the lead up to that congress in order to facilitate that co-option.
It’s quite concerning, it has implications for society as a whole.
The labour movement is being co-opted and I think it’s part of a broader strategy of co-option that the regime appears to be rolling out.
I have been involved in the legal side of things trying to defend the rights of certain unions who were stripped of their voting rights in the lead up to the congress as part of this strategy of co-option.
</blockquote>
<h4>More: <a href="https://thestandard.newsday.co.zw/2021/10/31/storm-over-zctu-dirty-capture/">The Standard</a></h4>

"ZCTU Captured By ZANU PF-led Government"

Local teachers’ monthly salaries have been eroded by 50% due to inflation and the rise in the cost of living.
This was said by the Amalgamated Teachers Union of Zimbabwe (ARTUZ) on Tuesday as teachers across the globe celebrated World Teachers’ Day under the theme; “Teachers at the Heart of Education Recovery.”
In a statement, the union said teachers, especially in rural Zimbabwe are living in “sub-human conditions” due to the unavailability of proper housing. ARTUZ said:
<blockquote>
Teacher’s salaries have been eroded to less than 50% of the Total Consumption Poverty line (TCPL) due to inflation and the rise in the cost of living and some of the demands by teachers are welfare issues like housing which has proven to be a great challenge especially for those stationed in rural areas who stay in sub-human conditions and are often exposed to risk due to the conditions they will be living under.
</blockquote>
ARTUZ noted that the learning environment in the country’s schools was not safe for both learners and teachers and this would ultimately negatively impact the quality of education. The union said:
<blockquote>
The government must adhere to Standard Operating Procedure Set by the World Health Organisation.
It’s sad to note that the government had not adequately prepared for schools to opening with regards to COVID-19 preventative measures.
Schools are now hotspots and this has been confirmed by the Ministry of Health. This puts teachers at risk of exposure to the virus and unfortunately, this affects the quality of the service provided.
</blockquote>
<h4>More: <a href="https://news.pindula.co.zw/">Pindula News</a></h4>

Teachers Staying In Sub-human Conditions - Union

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