Teachers Vow To Push For Public Service Act Amendment
The Federation of Zimbabwe Educators Union (FOZEU) has vowed to push for amendments to the Public Service Act following a recent High Court decision to dismiss their application, along with other unions, to have collective bargaining enforced as the legitimate negotiating process between civil servants and their employer, the government.
The FOZEU and the other unions had sought to challenge the legality of the government’s use of the National Joint Negotiating Council (NJNC) as the platform for wage negotiations, arguing that it undermines the civil servants’ constitutional right to collective bargaining.
They sought a declaratory order based on section 85(1) of the Constitution, which guarantees this right.
In the ruling, High Court Judge Justice Lucy Mungwari dismissed the application, saying the applicants needed to provide additional arguments if they wished for the court to consider their case. She said:
Put simply, the respondents allege that the applicants did not plead any consequential or tangible benefit they would obtain from such a declaration.
There is no dispute between or among these parties. The contestation raised is academic. The applicants do not allege that the respondents have in any way barred them from exercising the rights conferred by the particular sections of the Constitution which they cite.
They cannot base their motion for the declaration of constitutional invalidity of the said sections on an academic apprehension. If the court were to grant the order they seek, it will be nothing but an order in the abstract.
Responding to the court’s ruling, the FOZEU expressed disappointment that the judge did not examine the substantive merits of their application.
Instead, the court concurred with the respondents’ position that the FOZEU’s application was merely academic and that there was no live dispute for the court to adjudicate. Said FOZEU:
We maintain that there is a live dispute. We have demanded a restoration of the pre-2018 salaries of US$540 which was never granted. We are currently demanding a fair wage of US$1 260.
Because of this dispute, we have declared incapacitation and teachers are embarking on a sit-in, which is prejudicing more than 6 million learners. Unfortunately, the learned judge did not view this as a dispute.
The employer has been using the National Joint Negotiating Council, NJNC to portray a semblance of normalcy in the sector, where they meet their “sweetheart unions” and hold “pity parties” and proclaim that there has been a negotiation.
We maintain that the NJNC is an improperly constituted illegal entity.
FOZEU has vowed to continue boycotting the NJNC process and instead will engage the second session of the 10th Parliament to advocate for progressive amendments to the Public Service Act.
The union said the goal is to incorporate key labour rights guaranteed by the constitution, such as the right to collective bargaining, the right to a fair wage, and the right to strike, among other relevant provisions.
More: Pindula News
