KEY POINTS
- University of Zimbabwe hires part-time lecturers amid strike.
- Part-time wages spark outrage, seen as unfair and too low.
- Strike continues with lecturers demanding fair regional pay standards.
Part-time employees, who are apparently paid as little as US~$3.30 per hour, have started to replace striking lecturers at the University of Zimbabwe.
Outrage grows over part-time wages amid strike
The action is in response to a walkout by full-time instructors who are demanding higher pay and more favorable working conditions at the university.
Terms for part-time lecturers hired for a three-month contract at low hourly wages are outlined in a recent employment letter that Pindula News saw.
The letter states that UZ will pay US~$3.30 per hour for 60% of the total hours performed, with the remaining amount being less.
Only US~$2.20 per hour, converted into ZiG currency equivalents, will be compensated for the remaining 40% of their working hours.
The letter, which included a timetable of 60 hours per semester for each allocated module, was issued by the university’s Human Capital Management department.
Teaching preparation, assignment setting and marking, and the necessary compilation and assessment of student exam scripts are all included in these hours.
“You will be paid for the actual hours worked as per structure and subject to income tax deductions,” the offer letter reads.
Additionally, it states: “This rate covers all responsibilities, including planning, grading, and administering student tests during the semester.”
The administrative council of the university has officially signed the interim appointment, which will be in effect from May 20 to August 20, 2025.
The Association of University Teachers responded by denouncing the administration’s handling of the labor issue and calling the pay “a joke.”
“Desperation meets despicability,” stated AUT. Systemic pay theft disguised as temporary job practices is exposed by the VC Mapfumo Admin’s contracts.
Strike continues as lecturers demand fair pay
They went on to say: “These are financial mockery, not salaries. A tone-deaf organization stomped on professional respect for money.
According to the Zimbawean, the lecturers’ union denounced the hiring of substitutes at night, claiming that it was unlawful under Section 108, Subsection 5 of the statute.
This provision forbids replacing workers engaged in a legitimate strike, as the lecturers have been doing for over a month.
Lecturers argue that setting their pay at US$2,250 would bring them into line with academic norms throughout Southern Africa.
Junior lecturers currently make about US$230 a month, plus a few more local currency top-ups that don’t cover the difference.
