*We are sick and tired of earning peanuts – teachers stage protest over poor salaries* https://thevoiceonlinenews.com/460u ___________________________________ `June 16, 2025` ___________________________________ > *Follow The Voice Online News WhatsApp channel:* https://whatsapp.com/channel/0029VaPRQqTHrDZdGRK5yH43 ___________________________________ > *Share The Voice Online News WhatsApp group link:* https://chat.whatsapp.com/DjU5F7Goh3M6M4XSkg81Gx ___________________________________ > *To advertise with The Voice Online News, talk to us here:* https://wa.me/message/PLR6ANGW2RX4I1 ___________________________________ DOZENS of teachers under the Amalgamated Rural Teachers Union of Zimbabwe (ARTUZ) in Manicaland, Monday, staged a protest over paltry salaries and poor working conditions. Since 2018, the teachers have been demanding at least US$1,260 monthly salary from the government. They currently earn around US$300, and many struggle to afford basic necessities like healthcare, education and accommodation. “We are sick and tired of the peanuts that we are being paid. It is high time we demanded our US$1,260 salary a month. “That money will be enough to take our children to school. We also demand basic education for all. “The elites have been able to take their children to universities out of the country. Our children are languishing in poverty; it is high time we make sure that our children are taken to quality education,” said one of the protesters. They also demanded meaningful collective bargaining, the restoration of their three-month vacation leave, paternity leave for male staff, and improved conditions that reflect their professional status, saying they have had enough of poverty. “We want collective bargaining that will speak to teachers’ issues, we also demand the restoration of our three months vacation leave, we want men to be sent on paternity leave. We have had enough of poverty; it is time we must be seen as professionals.” This comes at a time when the University of Zimbabwe (UZ) lecturers have been staging weekly protests as part of their ongoing strike against poor salaries, which has reached day 63. – _*NewZimbabwe*_