POLICE SEEK TO ARREST UNION LADER AS TEACHERS

C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 02 HARARE 000082 SIPDIS SIPDIS AF/S FOR S. HILL NSC FOR SENIOR AFRICA DIRECTOR B. PITTMAN USAID FOR M. COPSON AND E. LOKEN ADDIS ABABA FOR USAU ADDIS ABABA FOR ACSS E.O. 12958: DECL: 01/02/2017 TAGS: PHUM ELAB ZI SUBJECT: POLICE SEEK TO ARREST UNION LADER AS TEACHERS STRIKE LOOMS REF: HARARE 0007 Classified By: Ambassador Christopher Dell undr Section 1.5 b/d ¶1. (C) Summary. On February 1police conducted an early morning raid on the hoe of Raymond Majongwe, Secretary General of the rogressive Teachers' Union of Zimbabwe (PTUZ),toarrest the outspoken labor leader. According toZimbabwe Lawyers for Human Rights (ZLHR),Majongwewas not home at the time and police threatened t detain his wife in order to compel Majongwe to turn himself in. This incident comes a day after PTUZ called for a "go-slow" campaign and threatened a national strike if the government did not meet demands to increase teachers' salary. End Summary. -------------- Police React to Threat of a Strike -------------- ¶2. (C) Around 0500 on February 1 police conducted a raid on the home of Raymond Majongwe, the outspoken Secretary General of PTUZ. According to ZLHR, Majongwe was not home at the time and police threatened to arrest his wife in order to compel him to turn himself in at Harare Central Police Station by 0800. Contacts at ZLHR told us that Majongwe was in a safe house with no plans to comply with the order, at least today. (Note: Police typically arrest civil society activists on a Thursday and hold them over the weekend as a standard form of harassment. End Note.) ¶3. (U) The attempted arrest comes one day after PTUZ announced a phased escalation strategy to compel the government to meet demands for a minimum monthly package for teachers of Z$650,000 (about US$130.00 at the market exchange rate),consisting of a basic salary of Z$400,000 (about US$80.00),a transportation allowance of Z$100,000 (about US$20.00),and a housing allowance of Z$150,000 (about US$30.00). The Z$400,000 basic salary sought is only slightly above the poverty datum line, the minimum monthly amount required to meet basic needs for an average family of five currently set by the government at Z$389,000 (about US$77.00). An entry level teacher currently earns Z$84,000 per month and a senior level teacher earns Z$250,000 per month (about US$16.00 and US$50.00, respectively). Other PTUZ demands include providing teachers free Antiretroviral (ARV) drugs and housing that meets minimum health standards. ¶4. (C) Majongwe said in a meeting with poloffs on January 31 that the go-slow campaign had started that morning, and PTUZ had received reports that five schools in Bulawayo, a traditional opposition stronghold, had been paralyzed. According to Majongwe, the phased strategy consists of the go-slow campaign, in which teachers would spend most of their time in school staff rooms rather than teaching, and then a stay-away strike. -------------- - Willing To Go It Alone*But Hoping For Support -------------- - ¶5. (C) Majongwe told poloffs that of the 120,000 teachers in the country (the largest group of civil servants),the more "militant" PTUZ represents over 17,000. He believed the PTUZ labor action had strong support from teachers throughout the country, but noted that representatives of the 55,000 member HARARE 00000082 002 OF 002 Zimbabwe Teachers Association (ZIMTA),characterized by PTUZ as "government-friendly," were actively dissuading its members from participating. Paradoxically, according to PTUZ, the 1,000 member Zimbabwe Teacher's Union (ZTU),which is part of the "government-affiliated" Zimbabwe Federation of Trade Unions (ZFTU),is honoring PTUZ's request not to actively challenge this latest labor action. Further, PTUZ,s parent organization Zimbabwe Congress of Trade Unions (ZCTU) had not responded to a request for support. ¶6. (C) Despite the apparent lack of support from the broader labor movement, Majongwe was guardedly optimistic PTUZ,s action could create momentum for opposition to the government within the labor movement and civil society. He noted that the USAID-funded Studio 7 program, listened to on USAID-donated radios, was the primary means of getting the word out. Majongwe said he hoped that a widespread teachers' strike, in combination with the ongoing doctors and nurses' strike, could be the spark that sets-off wider protests against the government. -------------- Comment -------------- ¶7. (C) Like much of the opposition, the teachers are divided and not yet working together. PTUZ,s success may ultimately depend on Majongwe,s ability to reach out to ZIMTA and ZCTU. Nevertheless, the government, as demonstrated by its attempt to arrest Majongwe, is clearly worried. This comes several days after the arrest of Christian Alliance leaders (reftel) and further demonstrates the government,s intent to suppress any and all public protest. DELL