Today can be defined as the worst of the worst as our salaries trickle into our accounts and with it the constant reminder of how much the government does not appreciate us not just as employees but also as human beings. Our government has a unique gift of converting a good day into one of pain and reflection.
Day 5 teachers across Zimbabwe flocked social media with tales of horror and pain on the levels of injustice they receive at the hands of the employer, on an outside view concerned citizen reacted in horror at the sight of teacher payslips being shared on social media exhibiting pathetic figures that cannot sustain even a single person for a month and suddenly the whole country understood the ill treatment teachers are suffering.
Surprisingly the government had the audacity to dock salaries from teachers who are incapacitated, punishing them for failing to report for duty. Some teachers who were expecting to receive ZWL 30000 received as little as ZWL 11 000. Another group of teachers who are classified as grade C teachers but have since upgraded their qualifications to Grade D level, continue to receive paltry salaries. The Union has worked around the clock to assist thousands of members to apply for regrading but month in month out they continue to receive Grade C salaries.
From the harvested voices of teachers you could hear the disappointment, from the videos of teachers burning their payslips you could see the anger at this fraud but behind the anger you could see a sudden emergence of boldened resilience and a sense of urgency at fighting this fraud head on.
As we take a reflection on this day we continually encourage citizens to join their teachers in solidarity and understand that together we can effect change.
Source: ARTUZ
