Local teachers are up in arms over fresh salary deductions, with the Amalgamated Rural Teachers Association of Zimbabwe (ARTUZ) accusing the government of worsening their plight and calling for a nationwide protest in early March against poor salaries.
Posting on its official X account, ARTUZ condemned the latest deductions, which see teachers staying in government accommodation losing a minimum of USD 60 from their salaries.
According to the union, the government previously paid around USD 12 in housing allowance, but this has been quietly removed from payslips.
“Teachers received their paltry salaries yesterday. The government has found a new way of inflicting pain on impoverished civil servants,” ARTUZ said. “The price of government accommodation is much higher than what the government pays as a housing allowance. Government workers can’t afford to stay in government houses. The employer will soon be evicting employees and pushing them to the streets.”
Several teachers have taken to social media to protest, sharing pictures of themselves holding placards with messages such as “No to delayed salaries, No to ZIG,” “Black Friday, Black Tears, Pay Us Fair Salary $1260 USD,” and “ZANU PF HAS FAILED TO PAY TEACHERS, THEY MUST GO!”
One teacher, speaking anonymously, expressed frustration over the deductions. “We are already struggling with poor salaries, and now the government wants to take more from us. It’s unfair,” they said.
Another teacher added, “This is daylight robbery. How can they take USD 60 when they weren’t even paying us that much for housing? It’s a clear sign that they don’t care about us.”
ARTUZ has called for a nationwide protest by all teachers in early March to demand fair salaries and better working conditions.
“We won’t allow politicians to neglect workers while investing in power retention,” the union declared.
