Chamisa Calls For The Restoration Of Teachers' Dignity

MDC president Nelson Chamisa has expressed displeasure at the government’s reluctance to pay teachers living wages, describing teachers’ salaries as a national shame.

Addressing delegates attending the Progressive Teachers Union of Zimbabwe (PTUZ) 4th national congress at Belvedere Teachers’ Technical College in Harare over the weekend, Chamisa said:

Teachers are important. Teachers are the bedrock of society as they mould our citizens. We must restore the dignity of teachers in Zimbabwe. Teachers are earning RTGS$1 000 before deductions. It’s an indictment on our government.

… We must ensure that schools have adequate facilities for persons with disabilities. We have included the needs of persons with disabilities in our SMART Policy and will lobby to have these implemented.

A Zimbabwean teacher earns the equivalent of around US$30 per month using black market rates.

The government has tended to fire public workers en masse whenever they go on strike demanding better remuneration, as happened recently with junior doctors.

More: NewZimbabwe.com