The president of the Progressive Teachers Union of Zimbabwe, Dr Takavafira Zhou has made a bold claim that the Apex Council was bribed by the government to weaken workers’ fight for better salaries and working conditions.
The Apex Council is the main negotiating arm for Zimbabwean civil servants. It is leading teachers unions such as PTUZ and ZIMTA, to push for better wages and improved working conditions for the government’s workforce.
However, PTUZ, a militant group often accused of dabbling in opposition politics by authorities, has accused its partner of betrayal saying the Council accepted some government concessions. In a statement, Zhou said:
The real traitors or architects of civil servants suffering and poverty are Apex Council leaders whose hands are greased by gvt to betray workers through landing posts in gvt parastatals where they receive hefty emoluments in foreign currency.
No amount of misinformation, disinformation and outright lies can fool teachers, who in essence are professionals gifted with critical thought and rigorous analysis that can unravel betrayal after betrayal by Apex Council leaders.
Gvt must mellow down to a more constructive approach permeable to reason and facts rather that believing a casus belli (an excuse) proffered by Apex Council in which they see opposition politics in genuine labour issues.
Positive criticism nourishes leadership while self-pollination stifles debate, is parochial and weakens the ultimate output. Lies have short legs and capital and labour are strange bad fellows.
The moment labour leaders whip members to accept hogwash and starvation salaries, such leaders would have stopped to represent workers and must be jettisoned from leadership.
Social dialogue fosters industrial harmony and productivity, as opposed to collective begging, threats and outright fabrication of reality. Section 65 of the constitution is clear on workers’ rights and collective bargaining. Why Apex cling to a moribund, archaic and obsolete Statutory Instrument 141 of 1997 as opposed to section 65 of the constitution baffles logic and common sense…
Indeed, government workers, be it teachers, soldiers, police officers, health personnel etc have a dispute of right emanating from gvt unilateral reduction of their salaries from US$520 to US$550 (for teachers) in October 2018 to the current US$140.
Government workers say their salaries are insignificant and as a result, are incapacitated to execute their contractual duties and responsibilities.
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