By Own Correspondent

THE Amalgamated Rural Teachers of Zimbabwe president Obert  Masaraure has  slammed the government and civil servants negotiating team for allegedly taking teachers for granted by offering paltry increments.

The backlash comes on the back of peanuts salary increases after hours and months of negotiations by the representatives tasked to negotiate on behalf of the workforce.  

“Government is offering a paltry US$20 as increment. This is pathetic because at this time, teachers were waiting for a genuine review of their salaries and government gives this token.

“What is more surprising is that those people who call themselves negotiators as led by one Cecilia Alexander will obviously try to play Public Relations for the employer, but we know that she is an imposter; she does not have a mandate from anyone to be a negotiator at the table.

“Government has been renewing its team of negotiators but the team from the civil servants’ side is never renewed.

“Alexander is now a life-time negotiator for civil servants and always brings back rotten deals and has taken into her armpits a bunch of greedy individuals who want to benefit from lying that they represent us.

“We are glad that as the Federation of Zimbabwe Educators Unions, there is consensus that we are rejecting the paltry increment and we demand a US$1,260 as the minimum salary for a teacher and there is no time to be issuing threats.

“We are on the ground right now finalising on a solid mass action that is coming soon to force the government to meet our demand,” Masaraure said.