IWPR: Strike Paralyses Schools Ahead of Election
For low-paid teachers, being left out while large salary awards were offered to the security services were the last straw.
By Hativagone Mushonga in Harare Harare (AR No. 160, 14-Mar-08)
As election day draws near, Zimbabwe is experiencing the most widespread strike by civil servants and teachers since independence in 1980, with almost all state-sector teaching staff staying at home despite intimidation by security agents and government officials.
No doubt sensing the danger of going into an election with his civil service on strike, President Robert Mugabe this week awarded hefty salary increases for civil servants, including teachers, in what can only be seen as a vote-buying move.
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