Teacher unions have joined forces to declare incapacitation to report for duty on the 28th of September when schools are expected to re-open for examination classes.
In a joint press conference Tuesday morning, teachers associations namely Amalgamated Rural Teachers Union(ARTUZ),Progressive Teachers Union of Zimbabwe(PTUZ),Zimbabwe Teachers Association(ZIMTA), Zimbabwe Rural Teachers Union(ZRTU) urged government to stop taking their profession for granted.
Progressive Teachers Union of Zimbabwe (PTUZ) Spokesperson, Raymond Majongwe said teachers were struggling to dress themselves and feed their families owing to poor wages from government.
“A teacher cannot afford to send children to school so how do you expect them to show up and teach someone’s children,” he said.
In their joint press statement, the teachers bemoaned the fact that boarding schools had increased fees to between $20 000 and $40 000 while their salaries remained stagnant.
“The government must first address the needs of the teachers and not frog-march us into classrooms when we are hungry,” reads the statement.
Teachers are expected to report for duty on the 28th of September, the date set by government for examination classes to resume lessons.
Teachers bemoaned that they are still struggling to access the COVID-19 allowance which said is being paid at the mercy of the President when it should not be the case.
“As for the covid-19 allowance, some teachers are still trying to access that money but we don’t want it to be a charity case where the president just decided that workers must have US$75. We need an allowance we deserve since we are putting our lives on the line. we want the government to put us in our place,” further reads the statement.
The teachers emphasized that by declaring incapacitation, they are not fighting with the government but begging professionally.
