Over 100 teachers from the Zambia Union of Teachers (ZNUT), Secondary School Teachers Union (SESTUZ), and the Basic Teachers Union (BETUZ) have resigned from their teacher unions to join the newly formed Professional Teachers’ Union of Zambia (PTUZ).
Representative of the over 100 teachers, Paul Kamwendo, says teachers have decided to join PTUZ due to poor management and representation from their former unions.
Mr. Kamwendo accused the three unions of not being competent enough to represent teachers’ views and interests after signing for a 15 percent salary increment without the approval of the teachers.
He added that BETUZ is also operating illegally as it changed its constitution without the consent of the labour commissioner.
Mr. Kamwendo further alleged that the three unions have deviated their attention from attending to matters affecting teachers and are rather fighting the PTUZ and have also concentrated on court issues using teachers’ contributions.
He further wondered why the Lusaka District Education Board Secretary is stopping them from withdrawing from the three teacher unions.
He noted that the move was undermining their right to belong or not to belong to a union of their choice as stated by the industrial and labour relations Act.
ZANIS
Teachers hold your fire – It’s like now money is the driving force in the teaching profession. I remember that teaching to be equivalent to being a pastor,nurse,priest or reverand which is a calling. Today, most of the teachers I know are a ashamed to say that the are teachers but they align them selves to be Union Leaders or Senior Teachers or Headmasters. This is what is bring up these confusion in the teaching profession no wonder now that there are teachers now who have started calling themselves Professionals when in the actual fact they are mere primary or secondary teachers. No sooner does the teachers realise that they are doing harm to themselves are they going to realise that they mean nothing no wonder we take our children to private schools.
#1, Your comments make no sense. Your logic is very poor. Teaching is a profession.Do not view it as a voluntary activity. Is it an essential profession. We need professional and moltivated teachers to produce people in other professions such as medicine, engineering etc. Teachers derserve good representation. The fact the it is a calling does not mean that these essential service workers live lives below the poverty line. They have sacrificed and must be taken care of too.
Teachers need respect from the Government by giving them better pay cos they do a comendable job. Forming other unions cant’ help cos they will just divide the teachers as the saying goes ‘united we stand and divided we fall’. The problem is that teachers are now behaving like political parties.
No.1 wayi taya.You think that the fellas in private schools are not teachers? Shame on you. Think about the fact that you are able to read this is because of a teacher. Niwebo ngwele sana. Teachers in private school do not belong to trade unions because that is the understanding between them and their employers. Atase iwe! You think that in a calling there is no good lyee? You ask some of the pastors and bishops how sick it feels when people are not tithing and giving healthier offering!
This a bad sign for the education system in the country. As #2 has already pointed out, Teaching (Pedagogy) in itself is a profession and needs to be recognized as such, regardless of the field of study. Abandoning old Unions to form new ones should only be permissible if it backed by proponents from the entire education system.
The problem with our current unions is that they are easily manipulated by politicians, we are a long way from having strong unionim in Zambia from the Time FTJ broke the union backbone of unity.
We shall take decades to reach the south african type of unionism
#1 Iwe ndiwe kapuba, how can you even open your mouth over teachers needs,today you can even read coz of their hard work they gave and today you want to compare them to priests,you think they should give it for free,why are you not a teacher yourself. Teachers deserve better than what our government give them,everyone in different jobs doing well is because of teachers who taught them
Teachers you give up so fast. When you strike we are ever with you but you give up so fast. It is like you can not stay for two months without holding a chalk. Joining a new uion will not help you, Wake up from your sleep and put the thieves under pressure. You are very important in the society without you there can not be any proffession. If ti means joining a new union let everybody do it.
until now I thought teachers were wise and educated people. How can they continue being divided by self centered individuals. Don,t you teachers know the more divided you are the lesser you bargaining power. Shame on those who are deceived by these money hungry unionists.
stop thinking like babies.a teacher is the c entre of development.neglect us and you will see how u are going to suffer emotionaly,economicaly and socially,these old three unions are nothing but toothless tigers.they only know how to spend teachers contributions without unerstanding why teachers contribute.shame on them.ptuz one union one industry do something for a poor teacher.
what is latest about PTUZ please help me get connected! or has the court nulliefied it? i want to start PTUZ in Muchinga province.