Sunday News
26 April 2009
By Robin Muchetu and Chipo Mudarikwa
THE Zimbabwe Teachers Association (ZIMTA) has given the Government up to Thursday this week to come up with a proper salary structure — where the lowest paid educators will earn 15 000 rand per month or risk another devastating job action, it has been learnt.
This was disclosed by the president of the association, Mrs Tendai Chikowore, in an interview in Bulawayo on the sidelines of the association’s 28th annual national conference yesterday.
She said another meeting with Education, Sport, Arts and Culture Minister, Senator David Coltart, was scheduled for Thursday.
“We, as the backbone of the education system, need to be adequately paid so that we produce a quality product at the end of the day and we propose that we get a salary similar to what is being offered by other countries in the SADC region which is about 15 000 rand. That way we will be happy,’’ said Mrs Chikowore.
ZIMTA also called on the Government to allocate them a clothing allowance which would see them wearing uniforms like other civil servants such as nurses since their allowances were not sufficient to buy expensive clothes.
“Our code of conduct entails that we put on decent clothing like uniforms . . . nurses, policemen and other civil servants have them too. However, this has not been possible owing to the poor remuneration we receive,’’ said Mrs Chikowore.
The association also proposed that the Government should exempt teachers’ children from paying school fees as they could not afford to pay from the US$100 allowances they were getting.
It is virtually impossible for them to pay the proposed school fees, utility bills and other expenses with the paltry allowances, it said.
During the conference, which was hosted by Matabeleland South province, a number of concerns were raised by the delegates, chief among them being the poor remuneration from the Government.
ZIMTA lamented the fact that they had not had fruitful salary negotiations since September 2008 and were hoping that this time around they were going to win.
The Minister of Education Sport, Arts and Culture, Senator Coltart, said on Friday that Government was not collecting enough revenue to enable it to pay the salaries demanded by teachers and the donor community was reluctant to assist.
The secretary general of ZIMTA, Mr Richard Gundani was also optimistic on the incentives that would be sourced from the donor community although it was not certain when they would be made available.
He said that it was sad to note that the teachers’ children were not in school as their parents were not in a position to pay their fees, but the same teachers were expected to teach other people’s children.
“Donors should ensure that the books and desks they donate are being safe guarded and this is only possible if there are teachers and students to use and protect them. A lot of vandalism has occurred at some schools in Harare, some of the desks have been used to make coffins and this is not a positive move,” said Mr Gundani.
Mrs Chikowore said that there should be loan provisions for the teachers.
“A number of teachers want to advance themselves by going to universities and this is only possible if there are funds availed to them by the Government. There is need for decent and affordable housing for the teachers and again these funds should be made available by the Government,” he said.
Also present at the conference was the Botswana Teachers Union (BTU) National Chaplain, Mrs Anastacia Kebaraee Agang, who said she was happy about the proceedings of the conference.
“The concerns raised are relevant and are workable if interested parties play an active role in the implementation of the proposed solutions.
“I am happy that the teachers raised their concerns in a calm manner, it is good that they complain. It is very normal for people to raise their complaints in a working environment. Their challenges are very big and they are not reacting violently,” she said.
The BTU also donated 50 000 pula to ZIMTA for sustenance.
The Government introduced a voucher system in February this year where civil servants would get groceries worth US$100, but with the advent of the inclusive Government Minister of Finance, Mr Tendai Biti said the vouchers would be redeemable for cash. This saw civil servants getting cash in place of vouchers.