Amalgamated Rural Teachers Union in Zimbabwe

01/09/2026

UNPACKING SALARY GRADE INJUSTICE IN EDUCATION

C3 = C4 IS AN INSULT TO TEACHERS!

Revolutionary salutations, Cdes.

Right now, in Government schools, the Paterson grading system is being abused.

An Ordinary Teacher – C3 earns: 7,000 ZiG and US$320

A Deputy Head – C4, with greater responsibility, earns: 7,000 ZiG and US$320

A Head – D1, making strategic decisions for School,learners and staff, earns: 14,000 ZiG and US$320

THE QUESTION IS:Where is the reward for responsibility, experience and qualification?

The system is telling us that promotion means more work, more stress and greater responsibility, but without meaningful monetary recognition.

It is also telling a teacher with 30 years of experience that they are equal to a teacher with six months' experience.

It tells a Sports Master, HOD, ECD Teacher or Examiner that their additional duties are not worthy of recognition.

This is demotivation by design. It is the systematic relegation of experience, qualification and responsibility.

At ARTUZ, we have a Congress resolution mandating us to demand a basic salary of US$1,260 for a teacher at entry level.

We are not begging. We are demanding.

Our US$1,260 demand must be accompanied by a grade justice model:

1. BASE SALARY — US$1,260
A C3 teacher (general) must receive a basic salary of US$1,260, paid 100% in USD. No more ZiG erosion.

2. GRADE GAPS
Every promotion must come with 10–15% more pay. C4 must earn more than C3. D1 must earn more than C4.

3. EXPERIENCE
Teachers must receive annual increments. 5, 10, 15 and 20 years of experience must be reflected meaningfully on the payslip.

4. RESPONSIBILITY ALLOWANCE
Additional duties must come with additional financial recognition. HODs, Senior Teachers, TICs, Sports Masters, ECD Teachers, Exam Class Teachers, Boarding Masters and ZIMSEC Examiners must be compensated for the extra responsibilities they carry.

We demand an end to an era of flat-rate salaries and an end to the era where the Paterson grading system is only partially applied.

Promotion, experience and continuous learning must result in positive salary and grade progression for teachers.

At ARTUZ, we say:

AN INJURY TO ONE GRADE IS AN INJURY TO ALL.

Government must respect Paterson.
Government must respect teachers.

Let us see beyond union jackets. Let us see beyond exaggerated ZiG salary differences designed to divide us.

It is time to mobilise, organise and confront the injustices confronting our profession.

The future of our education system is at stake. It cannot be systematically traded in a market where those with financial muscle determine the future of those with less.

Workers united will never be defeated.

Like New, Join ARTUZ Today.

VENCEREMOS!

SG Masiyiwa
📧 [email protected]

26/08/2026

26/08/2026

ARTUZ GENDER DESK PRESS STATEMENT: TEACHING IS A PROFESSION, NOT DISCOUNTED "WOMEN’S WORK"

26 August 2026

The Amalgamated Rural Teachers Union of Zimbabwe (ARTUZ) Gender Desk notes with profound outrage the recent government panic regarding the demographics of the teaching profession. ARTUZ notes that the government has ordered teacher-training colleges to develop strategies to attract more men into the profession. This directive comes after Hwange College of Education’s latest graduating class turned out to be more than four-fifths female.

Instead of addressing the root cause, starvation wages, the government is treating the feminization of the teaching profession as an administrative crisis. We strongly condemn the societal mockery that dismisses teaching as a "women's job" simply because it is severely underpaid.

When a profession's wages fall below a living standard, men leave the sector. Consequently, society expects women to step in and quietly absorb the burden of underpaid care and educational work. This is textbook structural discrimination. Teaching is a profession, not a charity, and it is not a discounted female obligation.

We remind the government of its obligations under the supreme law of the land:

1. Section 56 of the Constitution: Guarantees that women and men have the right to equal treatment, including the right to equal opportunities in economic, cultural, and social spheres. Paying unlivable wages to a workforce simply because it has become female-dominated is a gross violation of this right.

2. Section 65 of the Constitution: Outlines the rights of workers, emphasizing fair and safe working conditions and living wages. It explicitly speaks of equal pay for equal work for people doing the same job.

We draw immense inspiration from the historical struggles of female workers globally, specifically the 9 to 5 movement in the United States.

In the early 1970s, women office workers organized against low pay, unequal pay, and a fundamental lack of respect in clerical roles that were dismissed as "women's work".

The 9 to 5 movement fought for higher pay, equal pay, and respect, both as women and as workers.

Through collective action, they transformed a shared predicament into a powerful tool for change, winning millions in back pay and raises while unionizing marginalized workers.

"We wanted higher pay, equal pay, and we wanted respect, as women and as workers." Mantra of the 9 to 5 movement

Just like the 9 to 5 activists, the women of ARTUZ are organizing to say: Enough. We will not accept the framing that teaching is a low-paying "women's job." We demand a living wage, equal pay, and respect.

ARTUZ hereby demands:

1. The solution to the "disappearing male teacher" is not a gender-biased recruitment strategy at training colleges. The solution is economic justice.

2. A Living Wage for All Teachers: Restore the dignity of the profession by paying a living wage that respects the critical work of educating the nation.

3. End Wage Discrimination: Acknowledge and dismantle the structural sexism that expects women to accept poverty wages for public service.

4. Respect the Constitution: Fully implement Section 65 to ensure every teacher receives fair, reasonable, and equal remuneration for work of equal value.

The ARTUZ Gender Desk stands resolute. We are not just fighting for fair pay; we are fighting for the respect and dignity of every woman in the teaching profession.

Mercy Kagona

ARTUZ Gender and Welfare Secretary.

+263 7 17073721

21/08/2026

Prayer service in memory of our 97 Compatriots.

19/08/2026

*PRESS STATEMENT FROM THE PEOPLE’S PARLIAMENT*

WE THE PEOPLE PRESENT DRAFT DEVOLUTION BILL, 2026

A Call to Put Developmental Power in the Hands of the Communities

19 August 2026

We The People has presented a Draft Devolution and Decentralisation Bill, 2026 as part of an ongoing national conversation on how Zimbabwe can strengthen local governance, deepen citizen participation and ensure that development decisions are made closer to the communities they affect.

The proposed Bill seeks to give practical effect to the constitutional principle of devolution by strengthening the role of Provincial and Metropolitan Councils and Local Authorities while creating mechanisms through which ordinary citizens can directly participate in local development planning and budgeting.

At the centre of the proposed framework are Ward Development Assemblies, which would serve as the foundational tier of local governance. Under the draft bill , the Ward Development Assemblies would meet at least four times a year, with residents entitled to participate and vote. Local development plans, capital projects and annual budgets would be required to originate from priorities identified by communities.

The Bill further proposes a stronger framework for fiscal devolution. It proposes a progressive mechanism through which up to 35% of the national development budget would be devolved directly to Local Authorities over a five-year period, with devolved funds placed in dedicated development accounts. It also proposes that at least 60% of devolved development funds be directed towards projects identified and approved through Ward Development Assemblies.

Under this bill, We The People believes that devolution must go beyond the transfer of responsibilities on paper. Functions, resources, personnel and decision-making powers must move together. The proposed Bill therefore provides for the transfer of relevant state personnel, infrastructure and administrative institutions alongs