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Meluleki, Moyo
CONSPICUOSLY limping more than the supposedly injured and wailing louder than the bereaved, teacher representative unions hovering over the education landscape should spare a thought and stop putting the education sector at ransom.
Soliciting for members’ subscriptions, arguably their life-blood, they ride and seek relevance from diligent, patient and resilient educators in exchange of services and meagre benefits including diaries, shirts and T-shirts, most of which almost come in garment design.
The relevance and importance of workers’ unions cannot be ignored and even dates back to the celebrated works of European Economist Adam Smith in his book The Wealth of Nations: Volume 1, where he argues that employers and governments should recognise them (trade unions) for the industrialisation under way could not afford to ignore the rising voices of labourers and organised resistance by workers.
There is therefore nothing wrong or amiss with teachers’ unions creating awareness and building consciousness among members, representing teachers’ interests, protecting teachers’ rights and defending and safeguarding members’ achievements.
However, as in the words of Eugene Debs there is certainly something wrong in that form of unionism whose leaders become lieutenants of capitalism and other vices other than those prescribed by their mandate.
Either oblivious or not concerned by the reasoning that education is a better safeguard of liberty than a standing army, coupled with the fact that he who closes a school door, opens a prison, the recent call by teachers’ unions on their members to down tools when schools open this week, is a setback on our education system, and a gross disregard for the struggling parent in face of economic hardships.
Have trade unions in general and teachers’ unions in particular, lost their purpose?
Having mushroomed mostly in rivalry format until recently when some merged into the Federation of Zimbabwe Educators Union (Fozeu), teachers’ unions have over the years become so subjective that their struggle has been more against rival unions than the employer, since their priority is to gain power and popularity, than to bring about any meaningful positive change in the interest of the workers they purport to represent.
Traditionally, personal ego, ambition, authoritarianism, autocracy and hero mentality have been characteristics of workers’ unions. Some have been known and remembered by the names of their founders, as is the case with that political movement called the MDC.
Standing on a populist propaganda podium in his 2017-2018 address to teachers, Progressive Teachers Union of Zimbabwe (PTUZ) president, Dr Takavafira Zhou retrogressively states:
“Indeed the status of teachers has been eroded and there is virtually nothing in the pipeline to address this (really?). Admittedly, in PTUZ members matter, and for this reason the Union of Choice will never romance with the employer, as the ultimate result of romance is pregnancy . . .”, continues the educated fellow before describing the once resented new curriculum as “half-baked, constricted, arid, acidic and rigid”, in an apparent attempt to hoodwink the educators.
Unlike in some struggling economies where civil servants have gone up to more than three months without salaries, the Zimbabwean Government has made paying its civil service a priority. The Government has left the door open for dialogue even in face of economic hardships. It has made strides and shown commitment to improving the working conditions of teachers.
Addressing journalists in Harare recently, the Minister of State for Presidential Affairs and Monitoring Implementation of Government Programmes Simbarashe Mumbengegwi urged educators to be wary of these unions’ sinister motives, and as well reiterated Governments’ commitment to improving the working conditions of teachers
“The five education sector unions threatened to take strike action without even attempting to give negotiations a chance. Government is therefore calling upon all teachers not to participate in this unlawful and highly premature strike action called for by some of the union leaders who may not have the same agenda of improving conditions of service for the teachers.”
“Government would like to assure all teachers that it is its objective to improve the working conditions of teachers who play a crucial role in the making of future leaders,” said Minister Mumbengegwi.
If truly progressive and concerned with the plight of the educators, teachers’ unions should sing from the dialogue hymn and be a conduit for engagement than disengagement with the employer, in an exercise executed under very militant circumstances.
In a shocking resolution clamouring for a sudden salary review and the reinstatement of a very long leave known as “vacation leave” while closing its annual conference in the resort town of Victoria Falls last month, the largest teachers’ union in the land, Zimbabwe Teachers’ Union (Zimta) settled for the most appalling resort:
“Therefore the 37th annual national conference of Zimta does hereby declare that schools will not open for the second term. For the avoidance of doubt, our members will be on strike and will withdraw their labour effective the 8th of May 2018 until the issues raised herein above are resolved”, read part of the resolution.
A true teacher is one who added to keeping the past alive is also able to understand the present. Vacation leave days for teachers were suspended in 2016 as part of austerity measures in the face of the economic challenges as Government argued it could not afford relief teachers. According to the Government, engaging relief teachers would see it parting with $2,565 million for the three months the substantive teachers would be on leave.
Teachers are arguably the most responsible and important members of society because their professional efforts affect the fate of the entire nation. A true teacher defends his/her pupils against personal influence and like candles; true teachers would consume themselves to light the way for others.
Sadly, many are called but a few are teachers, it seems.
Online Reporter