By Chinoyi Chipulu
The National Action for Quality Education in Zambia (NAQEZ) has called for a nationwide strike over the government’s failure to upgrade teachers’ salaries.
NAQEZ executive director Aaron Chansa stated for the past three years, the government had made repeated public assurances that over 40,000 teachers would be moved into appropriate salary scale.
In a statement, Chansa stated that the government’s promises remained unfulfilled, leaving teachers disrespected and demoralised.
“We are left with no option but to propose a nationwide industrial strike in response to the government’s continued failure to fulfill its solemn promise of upgrading all deserving teachers to higher salary scales,” he stated.
Dr Chansa stated that while NAQEZ understood the implications of a national strike, such action was now inevitable and necessary, if justice was to be delivered to hardworking teachers.
“Enough is enough. No teacher must be left behind,” he stated.
Dr Chansa stated that this betrayal had far-reaching consequences as it was not only a slap in the face of dedicated educators but a serious threat to the quality of education in Zambia.
He stated that when teachers were denied their dues, learners suffered and the entire nation was pushed backward.
“Last week, President Hakainde Hichilema reminded the nation by saying, ‘education is number one, without education, the country is dead.’ We fully agree with this profound truth, but if education is indeed the lifeline of the nation, then its heartbeat, the teacher must not be suffocated by injustice and neglect,” he stated.
Dr Chansa stated that NAQEZ, like teacher unions and other stakeholders, had made every effort to engage the government through dialogue, but those efforts had been met with silence and inaction.
He stated that it was now evident that only firm, coordinated industrial action could compel the government to act.
“We, therefore, call upon all teacher unions to begin mobilising their members in accordance with Sections 76, 77 and 78 of the Industrial and Labour Relations Act. The time for patience has expired. The time for action is now,” he stated.
He stated that teachers had been stretched to their breaking point as they had been used, ignored and denied justice for far too long.
“Their sacrifices are the backbone of Zambia’s development – they deserve more than empty promises,” stated Dr Chansa.
