CHINHOYI MP Leslie Mhangwa (Citizens Coalition for Change) has called on the government to reinstate teachers’ status and address their plight, adding that teachers shape society.
The teachers recently vowed to boycott the National Joint Negotiation Council (NJNC) as they “fight on” despite a High Court order dismissing their application for improved working conditions.
In the joint application, the Zimbabwe Teachers Association (Zimta), Progressive Teachers Union of Zimbabwe, Amalgamated Rural Teachers Union of Zimbabwe and Educators Union of Zimbabwe had sued the government over poor salaries and working conditions.
The teachers cited the Public Service Commission, which established the NJNC through the Public Service Act charged with the responsibility of determining salaries and working conditions.
They also cited President Emmerson Mnangagwa, ministers Mthuli Ncube (Finance, Economic Development and Investment Promotion), Ziyambi Ziyambi (Justice, Legal and Parliamentary Affairs), July Moyo (Public Service and Social Welfare) and Attorney-General Virginia Mabiza as respondents.
However, speaking in the National Assembly recently, Mhangwa bemoaned the plight of the educators in Zimbabwe.
“I rise to speak on the plight of the teacher as we sing celebratory messages and send our well-wishes to the teachers, especially in this examination season,” he said.
“It is my plea that we go back and introspect, the type of teacher we used to have in the 1990s and 1970s. It is on this platform that I stand to plead for the teacher. The teacher needs to be (remunerated quite well). The teacher needs his status reinstated.
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“We all came from teachers, some of us, even from families of teachers, for us to be what we are today. It is imperative for this house that the plight of the teacher be seen and justice done.”
However, Speaker of Parliament Jacob Mudenda expressed hope that the Professional Teachers’ Council, once established, “will be another instrument which the government will use to have some compensation on issues like the ones you raised”.
“Meanwhile, we will forward the matter to the two ministers of education [Primary and Secondary Education as well as Higher and Tertiary Education] on the plight of teachers and their status,” he said.
In March this year, the government gave teachers a US$20 pay increase, pushing their salaries to US$320 from US$300 plus a local currency component.
Some teacher unions are demanding salaries of up to US$1 000, up from the pre-October 2018 of US$540.
In May, the Zimta accused the government of evading teachers by not calling NJNC meetings to discuss their welfare concerns.
For years, teachers and their employer have been locked in endless salary battles, with the educators lobbying for the restoration of the US$540 minimum salary.
