Teachers fired for striking

Over 600 teachers in Zimbabwe have been fired for striking for better pay on the eve of crucical end of year exams. The state-controlled Herald newspaper reported this week that the strike was declared illegal and 627 striking members of the Progressive Teachers Union of Zimbabwe (PTUZ) were fired by the Public Service Commission for not abiding by a deadline to be on duty by last Friday afternoon. With a backdrop of 135 percent inflation, teachers are demanding a 100 percent salary increment backdated to January this year and another 100 percent cost of living adjustment backdated to June. Department of Information senior press secretary Steyn Berejena told IRIN that Form 4, Grade 7 and A level exams were about to start and the time of year was critical for students. He said there was no shortage of teachers and the government would make arrangements for the replacement of the striking staff. Berejena said the PTUZ and the Zimbabwe Teachers Association had been given an undertaking that they could receive an increase of over 100 percent. The ZTA had agreed to wait, but the PTUZ "took advantage" of the critical timing with exams looming and went on strike, he said. Berejena said that teaching was considered an essential service and the PTUZ did not wait the obligatory 14 days before embarking on the strike. He said the government had public support on the matter. "Parents understand the bad working conditions of teachers but children have prepared and paid school fees and exam fees all year and they can't prevent the children from writing exams at the last moment," Berejena said. PTUZ secretary-general Raymond Majongwe was not available for comment but the Herald quoted him as saying that although the government promised "hefty" increases, the amount allocated to the education ministry meant their salaries would only improve by 30 to 40 percent next year. The current salaries were as good as being jobless, he said. Majongwe was arrested last week under the Public Order and Security Act for allegedly threatening teachers who refused to join the strike. He was allegedly seriously tortured by the police before being released on bail. In a statement the MDC condemned the sacking of teachers saying: "The strike action that the teachers resorted to is a legimate way of expressing their displeasure of the deplorable conditions under which they work." It said the teachers' grievances should rather be resolved amicably and the government did not appear to care about the plight of the children. Health care workers, university lecturers and aircraft engineers at Air Zimbabwe are among workers who have been on strike recently.