Poverty hits Zimbabwe Teachers, Salary falls below US$100: ZIMTA

The Zimbabwe Teachers Association (ZIMTA) notes with dismay and abhorrence the fact that teachers in Zimbabwe are languishing in abject poverty as their salaries have fallen to less than US $100-00 per month. In real terms, teachers are living on less than US $4-per day.
Categorically, all persons who together with teachers earn less than US $5-00 per day are categorised as poor by international standards. In our situation, there is a glaring wage ‘theft’ and the systematic erosion of the value of our salaries and hyper-inflation hitherto hovering around 300%.
There are dire implications for this unfortunate development and Zimbabwe Teachers Association (ZIMTA) calls upon the government to avert a crisis in the education sector.
As a follow up to our demand for salary payments in foreign currency as was pronounced in our 19th of October 2018 press statement, we further impress upon the Government to;
1. Ensure that teachers across Zimbabwe are paid in foreign currency
2. Facilitate timely payment of the 2018 bonuses
3. Implement the Cost of Living Adjustment (COLA) in line with the prevailing economic trends.

These are so demanded in line with the National Budget announcement set for 22nd of November 2018, and we call upon the government to highly prioritise Education sector.
The situation in our schools is getting worse and worse by each day as teachers are faced with varied hardships during the course of executing their jobs because of incapacitation.
Should the Government fail to address these demands positively this month of November 2018; the incapacitated teachers are left with no option but to down tools.

19 November 2018

We Educate the Nation