The president of Progressive Teachers’ Union of Zimbabwe (PTUZ), Dr Takavafira Zhou has claimed that members of the Central Intelligence Organisation (CIO) last Thursday paid him an unannounced visit at his offices in Masvingo as the majority of PTUZ members across the country are reportedly boycotting classes.
Speaking to News Day on Saturday, Zhou said that he told the CIO and police from the Central Investigations Department (CID Kwekwe) that teachers had a dispute with the employer over the devaluation of teachers’ salaries from US$500 to US$35. He added:
I explained to the CIOs that the shutdown of shops is not part of our agenda, but staying away from work because of incapacitation. They also interrogated us on our 2014 banner, whose other writing thread demanded ‘accountability over diamonds and other minerals’ and I explained our expectation of responsible leadership that should judiciously use minerals for the benefit of all Zimbabweans as opposed to self-aggrandisement and economic banditry.
Some teachers who spoke to Studio7 revealed that they are on go slow whilst some said that they went to their workplaces to fool the employer into thinking that they were working whilst they were doing nothing.
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