ZimOnline
By Andrew Moyo
7 July 2009
HARARE – Zimbabwe’s teachers have threatened to go on strike if they do not get a pay rise by month-end, accusing the country’s power-sharing government of duping them in the past with false promises to review their salaries.
The Zimbabwe Teachers’ Association (ZIMTA), the largest of two unions representing teachers in the country, vowed not to accept anymore “hoaxes†from the government over salaries and warned of “backlash†from disgruntled teachers that could scuttle the unity administration’s impressive attempts to revive public education.
“The much talked about road map by the Minister of Education was nothing but a hoax, and diversionary tactic, the donor agencies appeal process was indefinite and undependable,†ZIMTA said.
The union was referring to an action plan drawn up by the unity government weeks after its formation and under which the administration undertook to restore basic services such as education and health and get Zimbabwe working again.
While schools and hospitals have reopened, the failure by the unity government – which says it requires a total US$10 billion to get Zimbabwe on its feet again – to convince rich Western nations to release grants and soft loans has hampered its ability to sustain the recovery effort.
A three-week trip to America and Europe by Prime Minister Morgan Tsvangirai managed to lay the foundation for revival of relations with the West but achieved very little in raising aid.
A US$950 loan that China has apparently agreed to give Zimbabwe is not enough to meet the government’s needs and there is no clear indication as to when or whether it will eventually be released to Harare.
Meanwhile, there are increasing clamours from not only teachers but also the rest of the civil service for more pay or they will down tools.
ZIMTA said: “ZIMTA will call for a nationwide strike, if demands are not addressed. This is the last resort should current engagements with authorities fail to yield results this July. ZIMTA members have exhausted their patience and will soon find it irresistible to embark on industrial action.â€
Education Minister David Coltart was not immediately available for comment on the matter. Coltart has in the past met teachers’ union leaders to urge them to be patient as the government tries to mobilise resources from donors to improve salaries and working conditions.
The coalition government is seen as offering Zimbabwe the best opportunity in a decade to restore stability and end a devastating economic and humanitarian crisis that had seen the once prosperous country suffer rampant inflation, acute food shortages affecting more than half of the country’s population, record unemployment and deepening poverty.
But skepticism remains on the government’s ability to deliver in the absence of donor support and its long term durability given the animosity and mistrust that persists between Mugabe’s ZANU PF and Tsvangirai’s MDC parties – the main pillars of the administration.