• Zimbabwe

    • Zimbabwe teachers demand 100% pay hike, threaten strike

    By on March 29, 2018

    President Emmerson Mnangagwa’s government is facing more problems as teachers demand a 100% pay rise, says a report.

    According to New Zimbabwe.com, a teachers’ union has issued the government with an ultimatum, saying they would strike if their demands were not met in the next term.

    The Federation of Zimbabwe Educators Union staged a demonstration in Harare on Tuesday and handed in a petition detailing its demands.

    The petition was intended to be handed over to Minister of State for Presidential Affairs Simbarashe Mumbengegwi, but he was unable to meet the teachers.

     
    According to AFP, Mnangagwa’s government was already struggling to resolve a month long crippling doctors strike over salaries and working conditions.

    Reports have suggested that Zimbabwe’s main state hospitals were forced to turn away many patients and only attended to emergency cases, as a strike by doctors escalated in recent weeks.

    The labour unrest could pose a test for Mnangagwa, who came to power in November after the fall of Robert Mugabe.

    Zimbabwe’s economy has been on a downturn for nearly two decades, and cash shortages have been experienced for more than a year with banks running out of banknotes.

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