The Zimbabwe Universities Union members met on the 18th of this month and resolved to embark on industrial action over the “unattainable” situation in state institutions of higher learning. Below is their notice of intent to strike.
The Zimbabwe Universities Union members met today on 18 November 2020 in the Minister’s boardroom (Ministry of Higher and Tertiary Education Innovation, Science and Technology Development) at 1100hours and resolved that the situation in our universities is no longer attainable. The salaries buying power has been eroded and as a result, universities staff are poorly remunerated.
The Union has therefore resolved to exercise the right of workers as enshrined in the labour Act 28:01, Section 104.
The employees are aggrieved as follows:
- The State universities salaries have lost value and have been eroded whilst services, utilities and basic commodities are quoted in United State Dollars or foreign currency.
- The employer has neglected the agreement to meet the regional parity level salaries for state universities.
- The state universities employees have been denied to exercise their right to negotiate as enshrined in the Labour Act.
The state universities employees hereby demand that;
- The purchasing power of State universities employees’ salaries be retained to the level of July 2018 salaries.
- The employees demand that the employer makes urgent steps to attain the regional level salary scales as per the agreement of 2010.
- The employer must urgently redress the salary disparity created in October 2019 (NDI/01).
The above are employees’ demands. We are therefore giving notice to engage in a collective job action. The notice to strike is with effect from 23 November 2020. Thank you,
- University of Zimbabwe
- National University of Science and Technology
- Zimbabwe Open University
- Great Zimbabwe University
- Harare Institute of Technology
- Chinhoyi University of Technology
- Gwanda State University
- Midlands State University
- Bindura University of Science Education
- Marondera University of Agricultural Sciences and Technology
- Lupane State University
- Manicaland State University of Applied Sciences