ZIMBABWE
Angry Zimbabwean teachers have declared they will go it alone with industrial action after the Apex Council called off a planned national strike of all Public Service unions.
The Apex Council — an umbrella body for all the nation’s unions — had given the Government 14 days’ notice to address their demands for wage increases and improved working conditions, but divisions emerged after the notice period expired at the end of January.
Chair of Apex, Cecilia Alexander said the time was “not conducive” to take action.
“The situation is volatile and polarised and the action we take may be hijacked for issues which have nothing to do with labour,” Ms Alexander said.
However, unions representing teachers, who make up the bulk of the Public Service, insisted their members would go ahead with industrial action.
The Progressive Teachers Union of Zimbabwe issued a statement saying Apex had failed teachers “once again” and it would therefore go it alone with the Zimbabwe Teachers Association (Zimta).
“We are meeting Zimta to have a well-coordinated approach,” the Union said.
“We form the bulk of the members and will have our strike together, so it is tools down full-time.”
The Government’s 305,000 workers are demanding wage rises and payments in US dollars to help them stave off spiralling inflation and an economic crisis that has sapped supplies of cash, fuel and medicines in state hospitals.
The development comes at a time when Zimbabweans are growing increasingly restive about the country’s economic meltdown.
Critics accuse President, Emmerson Mnangagwa of failing to deliver on pre-election promises to provide accessible health and education and jobs for the majority, leading to growing frustration that analysts say could trigger further unrest.
Harare, 2 February 2019
