Teachers across the country have resorted to risky alternative means of earning an income outside of government salaries, a new survey has revealed.
According to the Basket of Needs survey report, which was released by the Amalgamated Rural Teachers Union of Zimbabwe (ARTUZ), educators are surviving on other ancillary projects such as farming and illegal mining to eke out a living.
Speaking after the presentation of the survey in Harare on Tuesday, ARTUZ president Obert Masaraure said the majority of teachers rely on the government salary, plunging them into poverty and requiring alternative means of income.
"A staggering 63% of our teachers rely solely on their teaching salaries, plunging their families into inescapable poverty due to the regime hoarding wealth.
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"Nearly one in five teachers (17.95%) are forced into farming--not casually diversifying income, but desperate survival labour to avoid starvation. Only 14.10% manage to survive by offering extra lessons, and as a radical union, we stand firm: paid extra lessons unfairly place financial strain on working-class parents, and we refuse to let the state turn workers against one another.
"Additionally, secondary poultry production has become a meagre safety net for 12.82% of teaching families. Alarmingly, 11.54% of educators now engage in risky informal work, including artisanal gold mining.
"The state should be ashamed that an educator, a keeper of knowledge, must work in dangerous conditions on weekends just to afford basic necessities," said Masaraure.
Teachers have been at loggerheads with the government over poor salaries, which they argue have been eroded by the high cost of living prevailing in the country.
ARTUZ has put the government on notice over the failure to address their salaries to bring them back to pre-2018 levels.
Masaraure said the survey has exposed the teachers' plight and strengthens their position in demanding an increase to their salaries.
"Importantly, this report will not be ignored by the state; it is a vital tool for our collective bargaining under the militant framework of OPERATION DHIGNITY. For too long, the government has treated our negotiations as if we were asking for charity, offering petty handouts, insincere changes, and broken promises while they exploit national resources.
"We are changing the game today with data-driven strategies. Armed with the undeniable information from this survey, ARTUZ will work closely with our allies in FOZEU to confront and pressure employers at the bargaining table.
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"We will leverage this data on the 'Triple Burden' to counter the state's austerity narratives and reveal their deceit. This report provides clear evidence of our hardship, detailing specific consumption gaps and living deficiencies," said Masaraure.
