AUT-UZ: Aut grievances and Strike
AUT POSITION PAPER
WHAT IS AUT?
The Association of University Teachers (AUT-UZ) is a registered Trade Union at the University of Zimbabwe. It represents interests of all academics in areas such as welfare, salary negotiations, conditions of service and general workers’ rights. This is meant to ensure the smooth running of the university.
AUT GRIEVANCES AND STRIKE
At the heart of the current AUT grievance are three related issues.
Salary Adjustment
In 2017, junior lecturers at the University of Zimbabwe were paid about USD $2 250 USD per month. Senior academics ranged between USD $2 500 and USD $3 000 per month. But in October 2018, through a Statutory Instrument, and the introduction of local currency, the salary was no longer in USD.
In 2020, government introduced a COVID allowance amounting to USD $300 for all grades at state universities: secretaries, cleaners, security guards, junior and senior lecturers. The local currency salary component continued to be paid. This introduced a dual payment system. One part in local currency and another part in USD. The COVID allowance was non-taxable.
In 2023, through a Statutory Instrument, government introduced a tax on the $300 COVID allowance which was immediately converted to be a salary. This tax saw academics of all levels taking a net salary of only USD $230 per month. Only the local currency, the Zimbabwe Gold (ZiG) salary is graded. However, a professor takes a gross ZiG salary of about ZW$20 000 which translates to around USD $750. The other lecturers, who are the majority earn far much less in ZiG.
In total, a professor at the University of Zimbabwe currently receives less than USD $1 000 per month, a far cry from the 2017 salary of USD $3 000.
Yet, most services across the country are priced in USD including; fuel, public transport, rentals, school fees, basic commodities, vegetables and fruits at markets.
The matter becomes worse when considering that the University of Zimbabwe is in the capital city which is extremely expensive to live in.
Further, other universities in Harare, pay honorariums amounting to about USD $140 per month and a raft of subsidies. In other universities (and institutions), beneficiaries of employees do not pay tuition fees. Yet at the University of Zimbabwe, such is not the case. In other institutions, lunch for employees is either free or heavily subsidised. That is not obtaining at the University of Zimbabwe.
This situation has resulted in lecturers failing to pay rentals, failing to pay school fees for their children and provide for their dependants. Some have resorted to staying in make-shift accommodation (Wooden and Durawall cabins).
Lecturers at the University of Zimbabwe cannot afford lunch for themselves. They cannot afford a decent family life. They cannot afford even to buy second hand vehicles and second-hand clothes. They cannot afford public transport to and from work. They often walk for more than 8km to work.
This explains why the strike had to be conducted in 2025.
Conditions of Service
Unlike in many institutions across the country, at the University of Zimbabwe, lecturers are not capacitated by provision of tools of trade the likes of (a) computers both desk tops and laptops (b) mobile phones (c) office telephone lines (d) efficient internet connectivity among others. Even Computer Science lecturers do not have computers allocated by the university. Every lecturer has to physically walk to the administration block for services he/she could have rung a phone.
Lecturers do not have adequate office space. Nearly all lecturers at the University of Zimbabwe share office space. Many share desks for that matter. Some do not have office at all. They operate from carparks.
Lecture rooms are ill equipped for proper delivery of quality education. Library has just been reduced to a white elephant. The last time the library purchased books was more than 20 years ago. The university subscribes to very old online journal facilities. The University of Zimbabwe is currently a pale shadow of its former self.
While this is obtaining, the University of Zimbabwe members of administration award themselves with latest vehicles, free fuel, state of the art computers, and laptops and various holiday trips abroad.
3. Waning Democratic Space
From 2018, with the appointment of a new Vice Chancellor, the University of Zimbabwe academic freedom was very heavily curtailed. Across campus democratic space shrunk significantly. University administration, without input and consultation with academics, created new degree programmes, new methods of delivery, new modules and even gave faculties and departments new names unilaterally. Academics who are critical of this modus operand are publicly humiliated or dismissed or demoted.
Chairpersons of departments are now appointed by the Vice Chancellor without consultation with the department concerned. This is in direct violation of regulations.
University security guards now attend lectures, conferences, symposia and workshops held at the University of Zimbabwe to sniff out critical voices. Conferences and workshops have been stopped mid-stream, after being deemed too critical of the establishment. Yet, to be critical of establishment is the hallmark of academia. In fact, currently to be allowed to host a conference at the University of Zimbabwe, one has to pass through seven layers of approval.
All research trips are now supposed to be accompanied by university security guards. Unlike in other universities and countries where a professor may take his/her students alone on a research trip to another city or country, at the University of Zimbabwe, it is now forbidden.
All visitors to the university must report to the control room/ security department. Previously, an academic could be visited by anyone without need to report to security. Academics were free to invite resource persons, from all spheres of life (politics, religion, industry, etc) to interact with students without a long bureaucratic journey. It is no longer the case.
Academics who wish to remain in office after 4PM must report to security control room and give reasons for the stay. The Director of Security, reserves the right to decline the request to stay. As, the situation stands, the Director of Security, involves himself in academic issues. He ordered lecturers to mark and submit examination scripts to his office. He has allocated examinations scripts to lecturers.
Departmental and Faculty Board meetings are no longer places for robust engagements on issues that have an impact on academia. They have been reduced to report back meetings where deans and chairpersons issue commands and threats from the Vice Chancellor.
DISMISSAL OF AUT LEADERSHIP
In June 2025, the University of Zimbabwe Vice Chancellor dismissed four AUT leaders from employment. These include, Rev Dr Bishop Philemon Chamburuka, (President), Group Captain (Rtd) Engineer Boncase Mwakorera (Secretary General), Professor Obvious Vengeyi (Treasurer cum Spokesperson) and Dr Justin Tandire, (Committee Member).
EXTREMELY BIASED STAFF DISCIPLINARY COMMITTEE (SDC)
Although the composition of the Staff Disciplinary Committee is regulated in the University of Zimbabwe Code of Conduct, the case of AUT leaders has demonstrated that in practice, the committee is extremely biased against employees and unable to deliver justice.
First, AUT or an employee in general is represented by one member of equal status. But the university is represented by the Pro-Vice Chancellor (Chairman), The Registrar of the university, in dual capacity of investigator and secretariat to the SDC, three deans (of AUT leaders) and a senior member of the administration in the Hunan Resources Department. All these six members are against the employees. In an environment where exercise of conscience is not allowed, the whole issue is reduced to vote. The six naturally vote to appease the Vice Chancellor.
Second, in the matter between AUT and the University of Zimbabwe, the Registrar was on the panel as complainant, investigator and secretary to the SDC. The roles are conflicting.
Third, the application and fairness of the Code of Conduct was made impossible by the presence of the Director for Security Services. While the Code of Conduct says, either him or registrar investigates, he was also a complainant and investigator in the matter between AUT and the University of Zimbabwe.
The same bias goes for the Appeals Committee of the SDC. It is appointed by the Vice Chancellor. In this case, to deal with a matter that was in the public domain; a matter they already knew the preferred outcome and position of the Vice Chancellor.
AUT JOURNEY UNTIL DISMISSAL OF LEADERSHIP
While disguised as a matter of principle, the matter at hand is victimisation for conducting one of the most successful strikes in the history of the institution.
Since 2018, AUT leadership sought engagement with university authorities in view of the humiliating salaries. Successive AUT executives wrote in excess of 30 letters seeking dialogue with the University of Zimbabwe management. But the university administration ignored all the letters except two.
AUT took the University of Zimbabwe to court for conciliation in May 2023. The University argued in court that AUT did not exist legally and practically in terms of membership.
Labour officers were dispatched by the Ministry of Public Service Labour and Social Welfare for an inspection in loco, on the 20th of November 2024.
The officers’ report established that AUT existed both legally and with a membership of more than 150 academics. The report further affirmed the claims raised by AUT in court about the deteriorating situation at the university, particularly that no tools of trade were available for academics.
In January 2025, AUT leadership began to mobilise membership for collective job action to demand a salary review and improved conditions of service.
On 28 March 2025 AUT Secretary General wrote a letter to the university Registrar seeking permission to use the Great Hall for conducting the ballot on whether to go on strike or not. Historically, the letter is just a formality. Since AUT was established in 1965, during the colonial era, it has not been denied a venue to conduct its business. The registrars did not always respond to the letters. Again on this occasion the registrar did not respond.
On 02 April 2025, labour officers from the Ministry of Public Service, Labour and Social Welfare who had been invited by AUT leadership to observe the ballot arrived at 0900hrs. Together with AUT Secretary General, they went to the office of the registrar to announce their presence and their business. The registrar was not available. They were referred to the Deputy Registrar. She was also not available. But the Deputy Registrar through a phone call instructed the University of Zimbabwe legal advisor to entertain the visitors and report with them to the office of the Director for Security services.
The Director for Security Services allocated two security guards to accompany the team to the Great Hall, to commence the balloting process. It was after 1000hrs that the processes began with the University of Zimbabwe represented by its legal officer, two security guards and human resources personnel. In the presence of labour officers, the AUT leadership conducted the ballot.
At lunch the Registrar accompanied by the Director for Security Services visited the Great Hall and exchanged greetings with the AUT legal advisor and the AUT president. He had a brief chat with labour officers and the UZ legal officer before he left (together with the Director for Security).
20 minutes later the Director for Security came back and instructed that the ballot should stop or relocate to another venue, 800m away from the Great Hall. AUT leadership tried to reason with him without success. He was abusive and threatening to fire AUT leadership from the university.
After consultation with the legal advisor, and labour officers, AUT leadership moved to the foyer of the Great Hall leaving the main auditorium. Voting continued in the foyer until 4PM. A senior University of Zimbabwe Human Resources manager, came to witness the conclusion of the voting process; the counting and announcement of results.
He instructed two of his officers to print copies of a register with all the names and employment details of the academics at the university. One copy was given to the labour officers to verify if all those who voted were indeed members of the university academic staff and their status. Another copy was given to AUT leadership.
All the 199 academics who participated voted to go on strike.
On the 04th of April 2025, AUT through the legal advisor wrote a letter to the Vice Chancellor complaining about the untoward behaviour demonstrated by the Director for Security Services by disrupting the AUT balloting and the abusive language.
The Vice Chancellor, without carrying out an investigation, dismissed the AUT allegations as baseless. Instead on the 06th of April he suspended the entire AUT leadership including the legal advisor for violent behaviour and failure to obey lawful instructions.
THE STRIKE
After serving the employer with sufficient notice to go on industrial action, the AUT called on its membership to down tools starting on the 16th April 2025 until demands were met.
On 16th April 2025, heavily armed police descended on the University of Zimbabwe and arrested three AUT leaders: Boncase Mwakorera, Obvious Vengeyi and a faculty coordinator Dr Desmond Ndedzu.
In police cells, they were subjected to inhuman treatment and humiliation.
Against the wishes of the administration, the arrest of leaders did not break the spirits of the membership to demand fair wage and improved working conditions. The arrest, instead ignited a new resolve that endured for 199 days!
AUT leadership mobilised membership to picket every Monday at the University’s main entrance from April until 31 October 2025, when the government promised to increase the salaries. But nothing has been done yet!
URGENT AUT APPEAL FOR HELP
AUT is appealing for Financial Assistance for:
Legal Fees
General Welfare of the four dismissed AUT leaders
Medical cover
School fees for children
Upkeep of families (basic commodities, utility bills, rents)
