The government of Zimbabwe has now roped in the Public Service Commission to force the hand of the teachers who, through their various labour bodies have rejected offers from the government so far, the latter is also digging in with the President, ED Mnangagwa vowing not to pay teachers the US$540 salary they are demanding.

The PSC has issued an ultimatum to teachers essentially if they do not report for duty by the 22^nd of February they are deemed to have resigned, with the PSC starting the recruitment of new teachers shortly after that.

Below is the full statement from the PSC.

1. The opening of schools has brought to the fore the importance of safeguarding the inalienable right of every Zimbabwean child to an education as provided for in Section 75 of the Constitution of Zimbabwe.

2. It is in this context that Government has, in its efforts to improve the welfare of its workers, continued to engage with workers’ representatives in the National Joint Negotiating Council (NJNC).

3. The NJNC meeting held on the 11^th of February 2022 welcomed the directive by His Excellency President E.D. Mnangagwa to improve the Government offer to its employees through a combination of monetary and non-monetary incentives.

4. In the category of non-monetary benefits, teachers would benefit from a school fees exemption to cover three children per family.

5. Plans were also announced to construct institutional accommodation for teachers at or around the school premises. The total would be 34 000 units over a five-year period.

6. Government shall maintain the current vehicle duty-free privilege for civil servants.

7. Advancement awards within grades, which had been suspended for some time, will be resumed with immediate effect to recognize seniority.

8. Government notes with concern that, in spite of the significant steps it has taken to improve conditions of service, working with the Apex Council, some teachers continue to absent themselves from work, with some reporting for duty but not working.

9. This has had the effect of depriving learners of their inalienable right to education as well as prejudicing parents of their significant investment in their children’s education.

10. This behaviour on the part of some teachers is all the more distressing in view of the fact that it is coming at a time when learners have already lost more than a month of learning in 2022 alone due to the COVID-19 pandemic, and were therefore looking forward to the opportunity to catch up with their studies.

11. Such behaviour cannot be tolerated as it will have a lasting, negative impact on an entire generation.

12. It is in this context that Government is taking the following measures:

13. All teachers, deputy heads and heads of schools who do not report for duty by Tuesday 22 February 2022 will be deemed to have resigned from the service;

• Those reporting for duty but not teaching will also be deemed to have resigned;

• All those who will have in that manner so resigned and were occupying institutional accommodation are expected to vacate the same with immediate effect;

• Unemployed trained teachers, university and college graduates in the sciences, engineering, technical, vocational areas and other disciplines who are interested in joining the teaching profession should ensure that they are registered at the nearest district education offices as the recruitment process shall begin soon after the 22^nd of February 2022; and

• Those deemed to have resigned shall not be eligible for this recruitment.

13. Government has taken the position that it will now work with those who demonstrate their commitment by performing their duties at all times to serve the nation.

14. In terms of Section 75 sub-section 4 of the Constitution of Zimbabwe, concerning the right to education, the Government of Zimbabwe has already taken reasonable legislative and other measures, within the limits of the resources available to it, to achieve the progressive realisation of the right to education.

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This announcement came shortly after the government offered a 20% increase on teachers’ salaries which paled in comparison to the 520USD salaries the teachers were asking for. The Progressive Teachers’ Union of Zimbabwe expressed that this move would affect about 135,000 teachers.

Harare labor law specialist Professor Lovemore Madhuku spoke about the governments’ decision on his Twitter platform and declared it illegal. He went on to say that the minister had no power to suspend the teachers because they were employed by the Public Service Commission (PSC).

The professor went on to say that the PSC also had no right to undertake a mass/blanket suspension. He also encouraged the government to dialogue with Teachers Unions and address issues.

The government has a history of laying out promises and then failing to deliver on said promises. Two of the three teachers unions have declined the 20% increase offer citing that it would on be an increase of about 20USD which will not do the teachers any good. There are fears that even if the government were to succeed by any chance, schools would have to close as the 130,000 suspended teachers out of 150,000 teachers would not be going to work.

Professor Madhuku’s suggestion seems to the only progressive option for both government and the teachers. The two sides would have to sit down and negotiate the terms as the state of the educational system of Zimbabwe depends on it. The time lost in dialogue would definitely be better than having 130,000 teachers being unemployed and also having children stay at their homes and not learn for a further three months.

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