Teachers to snub government pay offer

TEACHERS’ unions on Wednesday rejected a government proposal to pay civil servants US$100 this month and vowed to press on with crippling strikes which have left most of the country’s schools closed, and others operating with skeletal staff.
Prime Minister Morgan Tsvangirai was cheered as he promised to pay the country’s 130,000 civil servants in foreign currency during his inauguration last week. It was not until Wednesday this week that details of the payment plan were fleshed out by Finance Minister Tendai Biti.
Biti said all government employees – including teachers, police officers and soldiers -- would receive US$100 a month tax-free, replacing their local currency salaries.
The offer was way below teachers’ demands to be paid US$2,300 per month which is at par with what a Canadian teacher earns, and four times what a Polish teacher is paid.
“We have asked for US$2,300 and we are getting US$100,” said Raymond Majongwe, who leads the Progressive Teachers’ Union. “It's ridiculous. We are still suffering. We will not go (back to work).”
Education Minister David Coltart has been holding talks with the teachers’ unions as aid agencies warn that the new government must move with haste to restore order in the education sector.
With many schools still closed, and last year’s examinations still unmarked, the unions are urging the government to consider revising the school calendar. That may mean restarting the first school term.
“There has not been any effective learning since January 27 when schools were supposed to be officially opened,” said Zimbabwe Teachers’ Association (ZIMTA) secretary general Richard Gundani. “We advised the minister that there was need to revise the school calendar.”