Progressive Teacher’s Union of Zimbabwe (PTUZ) said its members starting this week will be reporting for duty one day a week because they are incapacitated and feel aggrieved by the preferential treatment given to senior government bureaucrats.

PTUZ president Takavapira Zhou on Monday told the media that its members had resolved to reduce their duty reporting days from two to one as they are failing to raise transport fares to and from work, besides meeting their basic needs as hyperinflation continues to batter the economy.

“If there is nothing offered, we will continue going to work 2 days per week, but we are planning to go to work one day per week because things are not well,” Zhou said adding, “Finance minister Mthuli Ncube’s words that they are not able to increase civil servants’ salaries, especially teachers we represent has infuriated us as teachers continue to receive useless amount of money which is between $700 and $800 net, which is very little to cater for their needs.”

He added that his organisation did not believe that government has no resources to pay them as it has recently increased salaries of senior civil servants.

“I have never believed that the government has no money, it has hiked the salaries of directors from $1 000 to $10 000, chief directors to $15 000 and permanent secretaries to $20 000. The increment was backdated to August, which means that the permanent secretaries will receive up to $100 000 this month. We do not know how much government officials including the President is receiving, so we were asking that if the government do not have money all the civil servants should get peanuts not giving preferential treatment to others,” he added.

Zimbabwe Teachers Association last week announced that its members will only report for duty two days a week, citing incapacitation.

Ends//

By Rutendo Bamu