Incapacitated teachers plead for compassionate leave

Source: Incapacitated teachers plead for compassionate leave – NewsDay Zimbabwe

BY PRIDE MZARABANI

AMALGAMATED Rural Teachers Union (Artuz) has called for a week-long compassionate leave for teachers starting from today up to Friday citing incapacitation.

In a statement, Artuz president Obert Masaraure highlighted that Public Service regulations backed their idea of compassionate leave.

“Section 41(g) of the Public Service Regulations provides for fully paid special leave of up to 12 days per year for any justifiable compassionate grounds,” Masaraure said.

“Teacher incapacitation has birthed multiple challenges which ordinarily draw sympathy from any normal human being. On Monday (today), teachers should file applications for compassionate leave citing the particular issues they are handling, school fees, rentals, hospital bills, and any other challenge which attracts sympathy from the supervisor. The leave should last up to May 20.”

Zimbabwe Teachers Association president Richard Gundane said the government needed to urgently address teachers’ problems.

“We would like the government to urgently pay decent salaries in keeping with the poverty line and inflation. Low salaries trigger incapacitation and reduce productivity. Educators must be motivated and adequately supported,” Gundane said.

Teachers have for some time been demanding to be paid their pre-October 2018 salary of US$540 per month as the economy wobbles under a cocktail of economic challenges.