Over 100 lecturers and teaching staff staged a picket on Tuesday at the University of Zimbabwe in Harare, intensifying a five-week wage strike that has brought academic activity at the country’s premier institution to a grinding halt.
The strike, which began on April 16, has already forced the cancellation of student exams. Lecturers are demanding their monthly salaries be raised from the current $230 to $2,500 — a rate they last earned in 2018 before Zimbabwe’s economic turmoil led to currency changes and severe devaluation.
Members of the Zimbabwe National Students’ Union joined the lecturers for the third public demonstration outside the university gates since the strike started. “No classes have taken place since the strike began, and students couldn’t sit for exams scheduled two weeks ago,” said Obvious Vengeyi, a representative of the Association of University Teachers (AUT), speaking to AFP. “The administration thought suspending five of our leaders would end the strike, but it’s only made things worse.”
He warned that unless the wage demands are addressed, the University of Zimbabwe, established in 1952 could face its first complete shutdown in history. The AUT estimates the university employs around 1,200 lecturers and academic staff, but claims only 17 remain on duty since the strike began.
The government has responded with arrests and threats. Earlier in May, six students were detained and charged for protesting in solidarity with striking staff. “We understand now that lecturers are the backbone of our education system. If they’re treated poorly, then the entire system is at risk,” said student leader Darlington Chingwena.
Lecturers argue that their salary demands are in line with pay scales at other universities in the Southern African region.
Their wages were heavily eroded after Zimbabwe’s transition from the US dollar in 2019 to a controversial local quasi-currency, the RTGS (Real-Time Gross Settlement). That system has since been replaced by a gold-backed currency introduced in April 2024 in a bid to combat inflation and stabilize the economy.
Despite the turmoil, university authorities recently issued a memo, seen by AFP, stating that temporary replacements would be hired to fill in for striking academic staff. The university has a student population of around 18,000.
