GOVERNMENT should immediately increase teachers’ salaries to at least US$700 to improve their living standards, the Zimbabwe Teachers Association (Zimta) has said.
Zimta secretary-general Goodwill Taderera said educators were saying this in line with President Emmerson Mnangagwa’s promise to improve their welfare in the second republic.
Taderera told NewsDay that government should improve the salaries before schools open next year.
“Right now, we know that we are supposed to be getting upwards US$1 000, but teachers have not been able to get even half of that,” he said.
“We hope that this time around, the government will meaningfully improve our salaries by giving us at least US$700.
“Our last proposal was US$800 and we appreciate how the government involves us during social dialogue. We hope the government (continues) to prioritise social dialogue that will yield positive results.”
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Taderera said the issue of non-monetary incentives had been on the table for too long without coming to fruition.
He argued that the teachers believe paying salaries in US dollars is the best foot forward.
“We have written to the government saying it must invite us to the negotiating table and up to now we still have not received a response,” Taderera said.
“The government must use that bigger end of the stick to extend an olive (branch) to invite us to talk about salaries before we get too much into the coming year.”