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PTUZ position on the mid year cost of living adjustment for 2004
Progressive Teachers Union of Zimbabwe (PTUZ)
September 27, 2004

The public Service Commission is as usual dragging its feet over the issue of awarding Civil Servants a Cost of living adjustment in July 2004.This comes as no surprise to us. We have always said our employer negotiates in bad faith. This situation is compounded by the fact that Collective Bargaining Agreements (CBAs) with the PSC are not binding. This is because the PSC team does not have the mandate to make agreements since they constantly have to consult their bosses who do not sit at the negotiating table. This has the effect of delaying the process of coming up with an agreement. In the meantime we will be languishing in poverty waiting for the powers that be to wake up from their slumber and realize just how bad the situation has become.

The facts on the ground are as follows:

• The lowest paid teacher in Zimbabwe earns ZW$670 092.00.
• The Consumer Council of Zimbabwe has pegged the Poverty Datum Line (PDL) at nearly
  ZW$1 400 000.00.
• The lowest grades in some private sector companies (sweeper) are getting as much as
  ZW$1 500 000.00.
  

As we speak it is quite apparent that all teachers are earning salaries that are well below the PDL. How can you be expected to make ends meet if your gross salary is less than half the PDL of your country? From September most teachers will join the ranks of those who are exempted from paying income tax. Surely this is a sign that we have joined the ranks of the lowest paid workers in Zimbabwe, a far cry from what teachers used to be in the good old days.

Even the 100% COLA being demanded by our representatives at the JNC will not be enough to place teachers above the PDL. Our demands for a starting salary of ZW$ 2 700 000.00 would have been adequate. If that award had been implemented we would not even be bothering the PSC about a COLA right now. The PSC should approach the issue of teachers' salaries more seriously instead of the fire fighting approach they are currently using.

The current review of civil servants transport and housing allowances is a pathetic attempt at trying to placate a seriously demoralized civil service. Where in Zimbabwe's urban areas will you find decent accommodation at less than $500 000.00 let alone the $200 000.00 which the PSC is giving to grades D and E. Buying a house or stand is a pipe dream for teachers who don't already own houses. Renting a decent home would be a small consolation and the PSC should act to ensure that we realize this dream. The transport allowance is again simply inadequate. Most teachers, particularly in the urban areas live far away from their stations and have to ride into town and then to their workplaces. They choose to live in these areas because this is where rentals are affordable given the meager housing allowance they receive. Given the present economic dispensation a housing allowance of ZW$1 000 000.00 and a transport allowance of ZW$800 000.00 would be adequate.

At the same time we must emphasize to the PSC that an increase in allowances can never be a substitute for an adjustment of our salaries. The demands we made in 2003 still stand. The starting salary of a teacher should be raised to ZW$2 700 000.00. Surely this is a pittance compared to what our colleagues in South Africa, Botswana and Namibia are getting. On average teachers in these countries get the equivalent of ZW$9 000 000.00. Its time Zimbabwean teachers are paid what they are really worth.

Macdonald Mangauzani
National Treasurer

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