Joint Statement By Teachers’ Unions In Zimbabwe (PTUZ, TUZ, ZRTU, ZDTU, ARTUZ, ZINATU AND ZINEU)

– Cognisant that we held a press conference on 22 September 2020 whereby all the eight registered teacher unions were fully represented and collectively furnished the Public Service Commission (PSC) in particular and the nation in general about the plight of teachers;

– Remembering that we engaged the PSC on 05 October 2020, Ministry of Labour and Social Service,  Ministry of Primary and Secondary Education (MoPSE) and Ministry of Finance and Economic Development in a bid to have teachers’ issues addressed;

– Having written to the above Ministries or Government offices as individual unions or as a collective, directly or indirectly on several occasions;

– Agreeing that we sent a petition to the President of the Republic of Zimbabwe, Cde E. D. Mnangagwa, on 22 October 2020 requesting for his intervention regarding the current impasse;

– Relieved that H. E. President Mnangagwa acknowledged the teachers’ genuine grievances when he delivered his State of the Nation Address (SONA) on 22 October 2020;

–  However, shocked that one of us decided to go behind our back and requested for a meeting with H. E. which was granted and held on 26 October 2020;

– Worried that the ‘agreed position’ filtering into the media and as indicated in some leaked circulars does not include our contributions and concerns;

– Committed to our original cause,  and having belted out joint statements buttressing our concerns, we, the undersigned teacher unions, now therefore, reiterate that:

– Our concerns, which are now in public domain, should be addressed in full view of key stakeholders and in consultations with all the teacher unions. This is guided by the motto that nothing for us without us and anything for us without us is against us;

– Our members remain incapacitated and teachers are not faking incapacitation. The level of privation, penury, and desperation among teachers is unbearable;

– We remain optimistic that H. E. President Mnangagwa will consider the petition we submitted to his good office on 22 October 2020 and call for an indaba involving all the signatories to that petition;

– We promise our members that the Teachers’ United Front is our sure foot in our quest for better working conditions and welfare. The same spirit should prevail among teachers across the union divide.

– We are not part of the Tshombe style executed by one of us and we will pursue this issue of incapacitation to its logical conclusion that guarantees a win-win scenario. Let teachers judge harshly those accomplices in their suffering who are egocentric, selfish and after personal grandeur at the expense of the immiserated and eviscerated teachers.

– All the seven unions have been instructed by their constituencies to the effect that teachers in general and our members in particular, are still incapacitated and not motivated to report for duty whilst the endless negotiations are still ongoing. As their Messengers, we have no choice but to adhere to their crying voices. Our members, therefore, including those from ZIMTA who feel betrayed by their Association, are still incapacitated. They can only be capacitated when government fully addresses their concerns.

– To all free riders, we just want to encourage you to join any union of your choice. This is no time for petty excuses but time to stand up and be counted as part of the solution rather than the problem.

Source: Teachers’ Unions In Zimbabwe (PTUZ, TUZ, ZRTU, ZDTU, ARTUZ, ZINATU AND ZINEU)

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