Teachers’ union vows to push back ‘illegal’ setting of retirement age at 70
By Staff Reporter
AMALGAMATED Rural Teachers Union of Zimbabwe (ARTUZ) has vowed to fight government over what it terms “illegal elevation of the retirement age.”
ARTUZ president, Obert Masaraure said his organisation will not sit and relax whilst civil servants’ rights are trampled upon by President Emmerson Mnangagwa’s administration.
“The elevation of the retirement age of civil servants is illegal on the front of the right to collective bargaining.
“If you go through the Constitution of Zimbabwe, particularly Section 203 (i) (b), states that the conditions of service shall be fixed by the Commission but following through what is set out in Section 65 (v) were the right to bargaining so where a retirement age is part of the whole retirement package for the civil servants.
“This cannot be unilaterally fixed by a bunch of people from the employer’s side wherever they meet in Cabinet or wherever they meet, we do not care,” Masaraure said.
He added: “As long as they have not engaged the employee side to then say, what is rational of this particular change, we find such a change both inappropriate and illegal.
“That is why we are up against it.”
Government recently extended the retirement age from 45 years to 55 for police officers whilst the military will be allowed to retire at 65 from 50 with an allowance to get to 70 years.
“…we understand that the ruling elites are locked in power tussles. We however have a responsibility to fight for labour justice and right to education. Our responsibilities will not be shelved to allow factions of the ruling elites to settle their power issues. We will continue with the fight demanding urgent solutions to the questions of the day.
“We are getting ready to push back against underpayment and the illegal elevation of the retirement age,” Masaraure wrote on social media.
During an interview with NewZimbabwe.com this Wednesday, Masaraure argued that factionalism had taken centre stage in the ruling Zanu PF party causing destructive decisions which do not take into consideration youths, who are supposed to be given a chance to occupy the few available jobs in the country.
Most young graduates are unemployed as government amid government failure to create jobs for those churned out of universities and colleges yearly.
“We look at the rate of unemployment of our young people and realise that this government cannot create jobs.
“Why then do they want to keep old people occupying the little jobs that are there in the Republic,” Masaraure queried.
“There are issues to do with mental capacity of the person to say as we grow old, we get incapacitated. So why are we not giving the best brains; young people who are fresh graduates an opportunity to provide services to the people of Zimbabwe?
“We need to build a strong State bureaucracy and that needs competent people who are highly energetic and young, but if we are going to be retaining our old friends in the interest of power retention, we are sabotaging the agenda of national development and unfortunately this is the path that has been chosen by the regime.
“We will be protesting against it and rejecting it, and it will be reversed,” Masaraure vowed.
Fundamentals such as the life expectancy of Zimbabweans which is now below 60 are some of the issues to include when a government changes laws or policies, said the trade unionist.
