The Amalgamated Rural Teachers Union of Zimbabwe (ARTUZ) is planning to drag President Emmerson Mnangagwa to court for failing to include amendments to the Public Service Act (PSA) in his legislative agenda announced on Tuesday this week during the official opening of the 10th Parliament.
Mnangagwa, in his State of the Nation Address, said that 17 bills would be tabled for debate while four other pieces of “obsolete” legislation would be repealed.
The current PSA which restricts civil servants’ collective bargaining efforts for their wages and working conditions was left out.
Under the PSA section 19 civil servants are restricted to take industrial action if they are not satisfied with wages and their working conditions.
ARTUZ leader Obert Masaraure said the act infringes on civil servants’ right to to call for better livelihood. Against this background, the union has already initiated legal proceedings to challenge the current PSA.
“We will not allow the government to continue violating our constitutional rights,” Masaraure said.
“The Public Service Act currently on strike, doesn’t provide for collective bargaining and doesn’t capture the right to a fair wage.
“All these rights clearly captured in the 2013 Constitution particularly section 65,” added Masaraure.
Last year in February, the government threatened to fire striking teachers if they failed to return to work.
Masaraure further castigated the government’s ultimatum and 20% salary increase advocating for a need to set up a collective bargaining legislative mechanism which guaranteed they received satisfactory salaries and working conditions.
“As things stand, employers unilaterally fix conditions of service without going through collective bargaining.
“We will fight tooth and nail for the right to collectively bargain and we will leave no stone unturned and no turn unstoned.
“We will force the issue onto the legislative agenda, until we achieve our goal.
“We can’t afford 5 more years of poverty,” said Masaraure.
The union’s decision to take legal action is a significant escalation of the dispute over collective bargaining rights.
If ARTUZ is successful in its legal challenge, it could have far-reaching implications for civil servants across Zimbabwe.
It would mean that civil servants would finally have a legal binding voice in determining their own wages and working conditions.
For years, teachers have been calling for an improvement of their wages due to inflation which has taken a toll on Zimbabwe’s ZWL currency. They want to be exclusively paid in the stable United States dollar.
But the government remained adamant and continues to pay them in through the volatile currency.