HARARE – The University of Zimbabwe (UZ) continues to face mounting pressure as the wage strike by its academic staff, now entering its third month, shows no signs of abating. The Association of University Teachers (AUT) has accused the university administration of deliberately stalling negotiations while relying on adjunct lecturers to cover academic duties—an approach they say amounts to exploitation.
AUT spokesperson Professor Obvious Vengeyi, speaking to NewZimbabwe.com, expressed deep frustration over what he described as a lack of genuine commitment from the employer and the government to resolve the pay dispute.
“The employer is buying time while we continue working under exploitative conditions. It’s cruel. We have not received any meaningful offer despite earlier assurances,” said Vengeyi.
The lecturers are demanding that their salaries be adjusted to US$2,250 per month, citing inflation, the rising cost of living, and the erosion of their earning power over the years. According to AUT, university management is instead taking advantage of the situation by hiring adjunct staff to fill in, without addressing the root cause of the standoff.
In a show of unity, all state university unions, including those representing non-academic staff, attended a conciliation hearing on 17 June 2025. The hearing, however, was postponed again to 8 July 2025, fuelling suspicion among union leaders that the government and university officials are dragging their feet intentionally.
“Non-academics and academics are now on the same page. There is no going back. They have resolved to join AUT in the industrial job action,” Vengeyi confirmed.
The consolidation of support between academic and non-academic staff is expected to intensify pressure on the government and the University of Zimbabwe to engage more seriously in wage negotiations.
Students Back Lecturers, Plan to Join Picket
The continued deadlock has also alarmed students. Many say the quality of education is deteriorating, and their future prospects are being jeopardised. Darlington Chigwena, spokesperson for the Zimbabwe National Students Union (Zinasu) UZ Chapter, said the situation is compromising the credibility of university qualifications.
“The return of our lecturers means that we are going to have credible and quality education,” Chigwena said.
He added that students will participate in the upcoming picket on Monday, standing in solidarity with their lecturers.
“We are future workers. If lecturers’ rights are respected, ours will be too. We are going to partake in the picket. We will be there, as many as the sand of the sea, showing our solidarity,” Chigwena declared.
The University of Zimbabwe has not issued any official comment on the current status of negotiations or on AUT’s accusations. However, sources close to the university say administrative focus remains on short-term academic continuity, relying heavily on part-time teaching staff and adjusted academic schedules to mitigate disruption.
But the unions argue that such tactics are unsustainable and exploitative, and are likely to deepen the crisis if not addressed urgently.
With the next conciliation meeting not scheduled until 8 July, and students now gearing up for active participation in protests, pressure is mounting on both the Ministry of Higher and Tertiary Education and the UZ administration to act before the situation escalates further.
