Teachers Suffer As Government Ignores Civil Servants’ Plight… – Eduzim News

By A Correspondent – Civil servants in Zimbabwe continue to earn salaries that are shockingly below the actual cost of living, with many struggling to feed their families and meet basic household needs, according to the Zimbabwe Teachers’ Association (ZIMTA).

In a statement issued on March 12, ZIMTA condemned the government for using the Poverty Datum Line (PDL) as a benchmark for wages, calling it “misleading and utterly inadequate.”

“Referencing public sector salaries against the Poverty Datum Line is an incorrect and misleading benchmark for determining fair wages,” the union said.

The association highlighted the stark gap between pay and living costs: the lowest-paid civil servant earns just US$382 per month, while the Basic Needs Basket for a family of four sits at roughly US$904, with overall household expenses exceeding US$1,075.

This means many public workers are earning between 37 and 64 percent below what is actually needed to survive, fueling low morale, mass migration of skilled teachers, and severe shortages across the public service.

“Public servants are not asking for handouts or wages that merely keep them above poverty,” ZIMTA said.

“They demand compensation that recognizes their professional contribution and allows them to provide for their families with dignity.”

The union’s warning underscores a growing crisis of underpaid government workers, as Zimbabweans face skyrocketing inflation and shrinking purchasing power, raising questions about the state’s ability—or willingness—to properly support those who keep public services running

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