Zimbabwe: Teachers stop strike after successful negotiations with government
Zimbabwean teachers who were on strike for better wages and working conditions have called off their strike after successful negotiaions with the government.
The president of the Zimbabwe Teachers' Association (ZIMTA), Mrs Tendai Chikowore, announced that the teacher union is satisfied with the agreement as it has addressed the various issues raised by the teachers during the strike. Members of ZIMTA were advised on 4 October to return to their posts and details of the agreement will soon be distributed to them.
The indefinite strike was launched on 3 October and teachers were demanding that their salary be pegged against the inflation rate which has now reached 6500%. Most teachers in Zimbabwe live below the poverty line and many have fled to neighbouring Botswana, Mozambique and South Africa to take up odd jobs to support their family back home.
Since eight years ago, Zimbabwe has plunged into the worst economic recession ever in its history. Its official inflation rate is now the highest in the world and its unemployment rate reaches 80%.
