Zimbabwe: We Are Sick and Tired of Earning Peanuts – Teachers Stage Protest Over Poor Salaries
Dozens of teachers under the Amalgamated Rural Teachers Union of Zimbabwe (ARTUZ) in Manicaland, Monday, staged a protest over paltry salaries and poor working conditions.
Since 2018, the teachers have been demanding at least US$1,260 monthly salary from the government.
They currently earn around US$300, and many struggle to afford basic necessities like healthcare, education and accommodation.
“We are sick and tired of the peanuts that we are being paid. It is high time we demanded our US$1,260 salary a month.
“That money will be enough to take our children to school. We also demand basic education for all.
“The elites have been able to take their children to universities out of the country. Our children are languishing in poverty; it is high time we make sure that our children are taken to quality education,” said one of the protesters.
They also demanded meaningful collective bargaining, the restoration of their three-month vacation leave, paternity leave for male staff, and improved conditions that reflect their professional status, saying they have had enough of poverty.
Responding to the following call by President @OMasaraure Manicaland Province took to the streets today and petitioned duty bearers.The struggle is now being led from below.Teachers, Our Profession is Under Attack – It’s Time to Fight Back!12 June 2025Fellow teachers, our… pic.twitter.com/DGfOo2v5Hv– Amalgamated Rural Teachers Union of Zimbabwe,ARTUZ (@ARTUZ_teachers) June 16, 2025
“We want collective bargaining that will speak to teachers’ issues, we also demand the restoration of our three months vacation leave, we want men to be sent on paternity leave. We have had enough of poverty; it is time we must be seen as professionals.”
This comes at a time when the University of Zimbabwe (UZ) lecturers have been staging weekly protests as part of their ongoing strike against poor salaries, which has reached day 63.
By New Zimbabwe.
