The University of Zimbabwe (UZ) has fired four senior members of the Association of University Teachers (AUT), accusing them of misconduct related to their role in the ongoing lecturers’ strike, now in its 71st day.
Lecturers Demand Living Wages
Lecturers at UZ have been on strike for over two months, pushing for their salaries to be raised from US$230 to US$2,250. The university has not yet met the demand, and tensions have continued to rise.
Those fired include AUT President Munyaradzi Chamburuka, Secretary-General Bornface Mwakorera, Organising Secretary Justin Tandire, and Spokesperson Obvious Vengeyi.
Vengeyi, speaking to NewZimbabwe.com, said the university claimed they used the institution’s Great Hall without approval — but he insists the venue was clearly opened for them by university authorities.
“We wrote to the registrar that we wished to use the great hall for the purposes of balloting on the 28th of March, and the balloting was meant for the 2nd of April, but the registrar did not respond to our letter of request. Then came the second of April, the university opened the hall and also brought in a legal officer of the University of Zimbabwe to be part of the proceedings. The university also supplied security guards to oversee the process until the end, and then two days later, that is when they said we used the hall without authorisation,” Vengeyi said.
Despite the dismissal letters, which the university says are effective from 6 May, the date of their suspension, the fired leaders say they remain committed to the strike.
Vengeyi said they expected the dismissals all along, accusing the university of using a technicality to get rid of them and intimidate other strikers.
The group says it is now planning to take legal action. Vengeyi said they will consult their legal team and continue with the strike and picketing as AUT members.
“We are still AUT members, we will continue with our strike and our picketing. We will also seek legal remedy, which we will discuss later with our legal advisor. We are not disturbed at all, not worried. We knew they would reach this decision because, even during the disciplinary hearings, they classified the offence under Schedule D, which allows dismissal on the first offence and we knew this was their intention, to fire us in the hope that it would stop the strike.”
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The post University of Zimbabwe (UZ) Fires Striking Lecturers appeared first on iHarare News.
