adminThe president of the Apex Council, an umbrella body of all civil servants bodies, Mrs Tendai Chikowore said their members should go back to work and wait for the National Joint Negotiating Council (NJNC)’s meeting on Tuesday next week.
“We had a five-day plan for the strike which came to an end today. We are, therefore, saying our members should return to work on Monday and Tuesday. We will advise them of our next position after the Tuesday meeting,” said Mrs Chikowore
Zimbabwe Teachers Association (Zimta) chief executive officer Mr Sifiso Ndlovu described the five-day strike as a success, saying the teachers were able to voice their concerns.
“We are going for negotiations with the Government again on Tuesday and our members should report for duty on Monday. The strike was successful and definitely we are certain that we registered our message clearly. The public and the Government is aware of our predicament and all we are looking for now are results,” said Mr Ndlovu.
Progressive Teachers Union of Zimbabwe (PTUZ) secretary general Mr Raymond Majongwe concurred.
“The strike was very efficient. We were able to make the plight of civil servants a topical issue and to us that is a major achievement. We were able to bring Government to the negotiating table. For the first time civil servants unions also spoke in unison and that is a plus for us,” he said.
The five-day strike began on Monday and was suspended temporarily on Wednesday to give a chance to the NJNC meeting, which ended without conclusion and was deferred to Tuesday.
By yesterday the strike had lost steam as teachers in many schools were working.
Civil servants on Wednesday rejected Government’s offer to increase salaries by between $52 and $84 describing it as “peanuts”.
The workers, who are demanding a minimum salary of $538, were presented with a resource envelope of $240 million to be used for improving their salaries and working conditions this year.
Government employs about 236 000 workers.
Teachers Union of Zimbabwe chief executive, Mr Manuel Nyawo, also claimed the strike ended on a low note because some headmasters were victimising teachers.
“This is the type of people benefiting from incentives while the ordinary teacher suffers. We are warning such heads against their behaviour,” Mr Nyawo said.
He said the response from the rural areas was encouraging.
“Rural teachers showed that they are not getting anything and most of them participated fully in the strike and this is a sign that they need a decent salary,” he said.
Mr Majongwe added: “We are leaving no stone unturned and this week we showed Government that we are serious when it comes to demanding what we deserve.
“It is disheartening to see some people in the same Government with us living large while the rest of the civil servants wallow in poverty. Something has to be done for the ordinary worker.”
Online Reporter