Zimbabwe’s teachers are renewing their call for a salary increase, pushing for a minimum of US$1,200 per month. Teachers Demand Fair Pay
Currently earning less than US$350, well below the food poverty line of US$500, they argue that the worsening economy and weakened local currency are leaving them struggling to make ends meet.
In a World Teachers Day statement, the Amalgamated Rural Teachers Union of Zimbabwe (ARTUZ) demanded a salary review, insisting that teachers need a wage that covers basic needs and allows them to save.
“A minimum of US$1,260 is all that teachers are demanding,” the union stated.
This year’s World Teachers Day is being commemorated under the theme “Valuing Teacher Voices: Towards a New Social Contract for Education.”
ARTUZ, known for its militant stance, accused the government of targeting its leadership with abductions and torture instead of focusing on improving teachers’ livelihoods.
The statement comes just weeks after ARTUZ Secretary-General Robson Chere was forcibly abducted, tortured, and later dumped at a police station in Harare.
ARTUZ urged the state to stop its attacks on the union and uphold the right to freedom of association.
ARTUZ has faced repeated government crackdowns, including office raids, arrests, and suspensions of its members.
President Obert Masaraure himself has been a target of state repression in the past. Teachers Demand Fair Pay
