Zimbabwe Teachers union urges members to stay at home and not be intimidated

The largest teachers union in the country the Zimbabwe Teachers Association has urged its members to stay at home from today and not be intimidated by the police or the Central Intelligence Organisation.

ZIMTA and the Progressive Teachers Union of Zimbabwe decided to break ranks with other teachers unions and the civil service umbrella organisation, the Apex Council, to go on strike demanding better wages for teachers from today.

In a statement last night, ZIMTA said: “Ours is a labour dispute, we are not politicians.”

Last month the Zimbabwe Congress of Trade Unions, the umbrella body of all trade unions in the country, called for a three-day stay-away to protest the 150percent increase in the price of fuel but the anti-government protests turned violent.

Several people were killed and women raped but there was also was massive looting of shops with property including buses being burnt.

The security forces which were deployed to crack down on the protesters are still on the streets to make sure there is no repeat of what happened last month.

Several Western governments, regional trade unions and civil society have protested against the high-handedness of the security forces in dealing with the protesters. But the Zimbabwe government insists that it could not fold its hands and watch while property and lives were being lost.

One of the people killed during the protests was a police officer.

The government has also said those who go on strike will not be paid for the time they are not at work.

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