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- Zimbabwe’s teacher unions have agreed to a pay increase.
- A teachers’ strike started in September.
- The highest paid teacher will earn $ 281.
Zimbabwean teachers accepted a government offer to increase their salaries by at least 41% and will end a strike that began in September when schools reopened for year-end exams, the country’s largest teachers union said. .
The government closed schools in March to prevent the spread of Covid-19 and, although students gradually returned to classes starting in September, teachers refused to return to work saying their salary had been eroded by inflation of 471. , 25%.
READ | ‘It’s a curse’ to be a teacher: Zimbabwean teachers go on strike as schools reopen after virus shutdown
The Zimbabwe Teachers Association (ZIMTA) said in a statement seen by Reuters on Tuesday that the lowest paid teacher would now earn a monthly salary of Zimbabwean $ 19,975 ($ 245) and the highest of $ 281.
Government worker pay has eroded in the past two years from a low of $ 480 as Zimbabwe has moved from using the US dollar as its main currency to using the local currency as its financial crisis has deepened due to to the severe shortage of foreign exchange and rampant inflation.
“ZIMTA continues to be actively involved in the search for better conditions of service, wages and benefits and is now developing strategies for 2021,” said ZIMTA, which has 40,000 members.
The finance ministry says it has been running a surplus in its budget this year and that any salary increase would not affect its finances.
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