Govt Raises Soldiers' Salaries, Teacher Unions Claim
The Amalgamated Rural Teachers Union of Zimbabwe (ARTUZ) has threatened a full-blown strike by teachers after the Government deducted salaries from teachers.
According to various teachers’ unions, the Public Service Commission (PSC) deducted between $11 000 and $17 000 from teachers’ salaries.
ARTUZ also claimed that the Government hiked salaries for soldiers at a time it was deducting the earnings of teachers who failed to report for duty in February due to financial incapacitation. ARTUZ said:
[The Government] increased salaries for soldiers but deducted salaries from [teachers]. This provocation will force teachers to go on strike.
The threats and implementation of no work no pay will not stop a full-blown strike. We have waited for a solution but this Government doesn’t care.
On Monday, the Progressive Teachers Union of Zimbabwe (PTUZ) said other Government employees (presumably soldiers), had been paid $80 000 each while teachers’ salaries were deducted. PTUZ said:
Teachers have just been deflated by salaries ranging from RTGS$5k-19k four days after other government employees got circa $80k.
The discrimination is resident evil type… Clearly, education matters very little.
PSC Permanent Secretary Jonathan Wutawunashe confirmed the deductions. He said:
It is true that Government is serious about the no work no pay principle because it is the only one that is fair to those who show up at work.
There’s no justice and there is no logic in treating the civil servant who reports for duty the same way you treat the one who does not show up.
