Harare - The Zimbabwe Teachers Association (ZIMTA) has threatened industrial action on Wednesday if the cash strapped government goes ahead with plans to delay paying their members’ salaries.
Zimbabwe’s largest teacher union told members on Tuesday the decision by the government to delay June salaries to July 7 “was rather strange and an insult to teachers”.
Teachers were expecting to be paid on Wednesday 22 June 2016.
“Zimbabwe Teachers Association (ZIMTA) hereby notifies its members of a pending strike. It has come to the attention of the association that the employer is not intending to pay teachers their June 2016 salaries,” the union said in a statement.
“As such the association has resolved that all its members should down their tools as from 22 June if the employer does not change the pay date to a date in June.”
The union said it had lost patience with the government.
“Comrades let us all stop delivering service as from Wednesday 22 June 2016. Enough is enough. Please forward this message to every teacher you care about,” said ZIMTA.
The hard-pressed Zimbabwe government announced last week that it was moving June pay dates for about half a million civil servants to July. Teachers were now set to get paid on July 7.
A meeting called by Ministers of Finance, Health and Public Service, Labour and Social Services as well as the governor of the Reserve Bank of Zimbabwe to discuss the salary delays was snubbed by government worker representative bodies.
Representatives for nurses have also condemned the pay delays, saying this compromised the country’s health system.
ANA