Teachers’ Unions Joint Statement on Schools Opening

We the undersigned Teachers’ Unions in Zimbabwe;

Applauding the President of Zimbabwe for deferring Schools opening indefinitely in the face of the COVID-19 pandemic;

Desirous of a safe schooling environment for our members and learners;

Determined to deliver quality services to our learners;

Appreciating the sorry state of the national economy;

Concerned with the erosion of teachers’ salaries;

After extensive consultation with our members;

We hereby jointly recommend the following to the government of Zimbabwe.

1. Schools to remain completely closed until virus is fully contained, However If the government is able to secure the around 15 billion local currency required to run our schools during this crisis, we request the following.
2. An urgent engagement between government and Unions to interrogate the Covid19 situation,
3. Recruitment of more teachers to address teacher learner ratio in line with social distancing directive,
4. United States Dollar salaries for teachers in line with new pricing regimes, and Further to that the following safety measures should be adhered to on a daily basis,
5. Fumigation of all schools,
6. Provision of sanitizers for both teachers and learners,
7. Provision of water in all schools,
8. Provision of standard Personal Protective Equipment, PPE for teachers and learners,
9. Testing of both teachers and learners;

To motivate and compensate our teachers working in a highly risk environment we recommend,

10. A 100% risk allowance on gross income paid in United States Dollars.

Co-created and endorsed by;

• Amalgamated Rural Teachers’ Union of Zimbabwe, ARTUZ +263776129336
• Progressive Teachers’ Union of Zimbabwe, PTUZ 0772198868
• Teachers’ Union of Zimbabwe, TUZ 0775914024
• Zimbabwe Democratic Teachers’ Union, ZDTU 0772918732
• Zimbabwe National Educators’ Union, ZINEU 0715815347
• Zimbabwe National Teachers’ Union, ZINATU 0774013500
• Zimbabwe Rural Teachers’ Union, ZRTU 0773967412