Teachers Accuse Mthuli Ncube of Deliberate Salary Hike Delays

THE Progressive Teachers Union of Zimbabwe (PTUZ) says the excuse by Finance Minister Mthuli Ncube that a salary increment cannot be effected until the completion of a job evaluation exercise is an excuse aimed at delaying increments. Teachers and civil servants take home a monthly salary of US$270 plus a ZWG portion which they criticize as too little and way below the Poverty Datum Line. Treasury has since commenced work aimed to rationalize costs, eliminate ghost workers, and introduce a new pay structure, with a focus on a new compensation framework based on job evaluations for salary adjustments But PTUZ President Takavafira Zhou accused Treasury of attempting to avoid paying a decent salary to teachers while perpetuating their suffering. “Whereas we expected an urgent intervention before the opening of schools, the Minister of Finance, Economic Development, and Investment Promotion, Prof Mthuli Ncube, has intimated that a salary review will await an infinite job evaluation process. This may be a ploy to deliberately give hope and prolong teachers’ suffering,” he said. The teachers group accused the Minister of Primary and Secondary Education, Dr Torerai Moyo, of majoring in trivialities after introducing extra monitoring and increased supervision of teachers in schools even by his personal visits across the country. The PTUZ reminded Moyo that there are better engagement points with teachers than his pre-occupation with schemes of work that school heads and heads of departments are judiciously carrying out and urged him to direct his focus on the high brain drain. The low budget allocation of 16.3% of total budget to the Ministry among other problems affecting the schools. Among other demands, the workers group called for a rescue package or COLA to allow teachers to survive, a basic salary of US$540 per month for teachers, 30% of basic salary as rural and hardship allowance, realistic Transport and housing allowances and the judicious and time-framed, consultative and robust job evaluation process. “Teachers are tired of so many people attacking them for doing so much, with so little. There is, therefore, a greater need for unity of purpose across the teacher-unions or even civil-servants divide in order to build a critical force that can unreservedly and unflinchingly push the legitimate demands by all means necessary,” added PTUZ.