By Victor Fanuel
HARARE — The Federation of Zimbabwe Educators’ Unions (FOZEU) has announced that teachers across Zimbabwe will report for duty for only two days a week from Monday in protest against what it describes as “poverty wages” and proposed constitutional amendments under the Constitution Amendment (No. 3) Bill of 2026.
FOZEU’s media committee, in a heavily worded statement issued on Friday, said educators had been left reeling after receiving their first salaries following the gazetting of the amendment bill.
“Today, as teachers across Zimbabwe receive their first salaries following the gazetting of the Constitution Amendment (No. 3) Bill of 2026, we are faced with a grim reality.
“The employer has once again spat in the face of the educator,” the statement read.
FOZEU claims salaries have been reduced from pre-October 2018 levels of US$540 to “a staggering low of US$270”, describing the payments as “poverty wages” that have been “systematically slashed.”
In one of the more incendiary passages, FOZEU declared: “They staged a coup on the President in 2017, a coup on our salaries in 2018, and now propose a coup on the constitution in 2026.”
The union also accused the government of degrading teachers from Grade D to Grade C and withholding printed pay advice slips under the pretext of cost-cutting.
“The employer’s refusal to provide printed pay advice slips under the guise of ‘cost-cutting’ is a cowardly attempt to hide the extent of the salary theft we suffered,” the statement said.
“By degrading teachers from Grade D to Grade C, the state has declared that the builders of the nation are no longer worthy of their status,” further read the statement.
FOZEU is demanding an “immediate adjustment of salaries to USD 1,260 to reflect the current cost of living”, alongside the restoration of previous grading structures and transparent pay systems.
Beyond pay grievances, the federation mounted a direct challenge to the Constitution Amendment (No. 3) Bill of 2026, linking it to what it termed the “2030 Agenda.”
“The proposed Amendment Bill 3 of 2026 is more than a political manoeuvre; it is a lifetime sentence for the worker.
“By seeking to extend terms and consolidate power through the ‘2030 Agenda,’ this administration intends to lock us into these starvation wages for the next four years,” FOZEU said.
The union called for “a national referendum on proposed amendments to term limits”, arguing that “the people must decide, not a partisan caucus.”
It also raised alarm over reported provisions allowing traditional chiefs to assume partisan political roles, warning that such a move posed a threat to rural teachers.
“We will not be intimidated into silence while the classroom is turned into a political battlefield,” the statement said.
In a significant escalation, FOZEU declared what it termed a “state of incapacitation” and announced a nationwide reduction in working days.
“Effective Monday, 23 February 2026, all teachers shall report for duty for only two days per week,” the statement read.
The federation framed the action as both an industrial protest and a defence of professional dignity.
“We will not be the fuel that powers a system that seeks to starve us.
“An injury to one is an injury to all,” it said.
The government had not immediately responded to the statement at the time of publication.
This announcement, however, sets the stage for potential disruption in schools across the country and raises the prospect of renewed confrontation between educators and the state over pay, labour rights, and constitutional reform.
