By Bustop TV Reporter
The Amalgamated Rural Teachers Union of Zimbabwe (ARTUZ) has come out guns blazing after President Emmerson Mnangagwa’s spokesperson, George Charamba called them ingenuine in their fight to have their concerns addressed.
Writing on his twitter page @Jamwanda2, Charamba said “CALLING OUT SO-CALLED TEACHERS’ UNIONS: What is the hullaballoo about nhai maTeachers’ Unions? If you were genuine Labour Unions, you would have tendered your advice to the inspectorate which is doing rounds in schools to gauge schools’ Covid-19 readiness for reopening. Isn’t that the facility available to you in defense of your members? If Government did not prize a consultative approach, it wouldn’t have despatched fact-finding missions to different zones of our schooling map. It’s that obvious. Yet you seek mbiri yechitsiga in cheap headlines!!”
In response ARTUZ slammed Charamba for hiding behind a fake twitter page.
“ARTUZ is shocked by insinuations.made by Mr Charamba on twitter by referring to teachers as cry babies( calling them; so called teachers unions) who are not genuine in their nature and urges them to use Schools Inspectors to bear messages and their grievances. First and foremost, as Teachers we would want to remind President Mnangagwa’s mouthpiece that attacking professionals through Twitter, and a shadow account for that matter, is in itself not genuine in matter. Teachers as professionals are addressed through circulars and their respective Unions. As ARTUZ we have and we will always continue saying that teachers are not feigning incapacitation but are indeed incapacitated and impoverished by the salaries they are being paid currently.”
The Teachers’ Union also said that they were constitutionally mandated to represent teachers’ interests and also hammered their wish to have the US dollar salary restored.
ARTUZ added, “Mr. Charamba should be made aware that Unions genuinely represent teachers interests and they are Constitutionally mandated by Section 65 in the 2013 Amendment, it must also be noted that their subscriptions are deducted through the SSB. How do you justify your assumption? Or it is just some vague criticism with no real solutions. ARTUZ also wishes to remind you that as a Union and a genuine Labour Union with the with the welfare of it’s members at heart we do not engage with individual government employees but this is an exception as Achebe in Things Fall Apart says, “Whenever you see a toad jumping in broad daylight, then know that something is after it’s life”. We are breaking protocol because our dignity and existence are under threat. We are jumping in broad day because we have to survive. Under normal circumstances we communicate with the relevant Ministries through their Permanent Secretaries and Ministers. We need to also remind George Charamba that our call for the restoration of our US$ salary is no gimmick but a genuine call.”
The teachers also alerted the Cabinet that the announcement on schools’ reopening will be dimmed futile if safety concerns and incapacitation are not addressed.
“Last but not least, Charamba should be reminded that teachers are incapacitated and any preparation for schools opening that does not consider the restoration of their salaries to their USDollar is a futile exercise. To that end Cabinet’s announcement today on schools opening is inconsequential, if both safety concerns and incapacitation are not addressed,” said ARTUZ.
