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Recent govt offer of 45% falls far short of teachers’ minimum expectations. Fundamentally, the offer was unilateral and not a product of engagement and therefore, one armed banditry in nature. Nothing was done to address salary discrepances introduced in June 2020 between teachers and other gvt workers. As such, the recent offer of 45% across gvt workers has widened the gap between teachers and other gvt workers.

The 45% has taken the lowest paid teacher from $13300 to $20000 and highest paid teacher to about $35000 which fall far short of teachers’ expectations. Above all, teachers never asked for a salary increase but restoration of the purchasing power parity of their salaries as at October 2018, viz, US$520-US$550.

As Ptuz, we encourage gvt to respect fair labour practice, collective bargaining and engagement with teacher unions, let alone to pay teachers a living wage. It is prudent to urgently address the welfare of teachers, so that when schools open, possibly in September, the main thrust would be on meaningful learning and teaching to prepare pupils for examinations. Incapacitated teachers will certainly not perform a herculean feat that teachers are called upon to perform when schools open. It is our hope that gvt would seriously consider this professional advice in order to create a conducive environment to assist pupils in 2021.

*Dr Takavafira M. Zhou (Ptuz President)*

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