HARARE – The University of Zimbabwe (UZ) has offered what critics call “poverty wages” to temporary lecturers as it scrambles to resume classes amid a crippling strike by full-time academic staff demanding higher pay.
A letter signed by UZ Administration Officer for Human Capital Management, Simba Matsika, confirms the hiring of adjunct lecturers at rates as low as US$2.20 per hour — payable in Zimbabwe Gold (ZIG) currency — to stand in for striking academic staff.
“You will be paid based on the following structure: 60 percent of the total hours will be paid at a rate of US$3.30 per hour, and the remaining 40 percent at a rate of US$2.20 per hour, payable in ZIG equivalence,” Matsika wrote in the letter, adding that the rate covers all teaching-related duties, including lecture preparation, marking assignments, and grading exams.
The temporary contracts, which last three months from May 20 to August 20, allow for termination with just two weeks’ notice. They were offered despite the ongoing legal strike by university lecturers demanding better pay and conditions.
The Association of University Teachers (AUT), the body representing the striking professors, condemned the move, describing the contracts as “UZ’s shameful exploitation.”
“Desperation meets despicability,” the AUT said in a statement on Tuesday. “The VC Mapfumo Admin’s contracts reveal systemic wage theft masked as employment… Professional dignity trampled for pennies.”
AUT added that the hiring of replacement staff during a lawful strike contravenes Section 108, Subsection 5 of Zimbabwean labour law.
AUT also questioned the qualifications of the newly hired adjunct lecturers, saying: “Only 3 out of 10 hires hold a postgraduate qualification. One obtained a PhD in divinity just two weeks ago.”
In a notice circulated earlier, AUT announced the resumption of picketing, calling for demonstrations at Freedom Square on Wednesday.
“We had shelved picketing out of respect for the visiting SADC heads of state. But the UZ administration has taken advantage of our reasonableness to provoke us,” the union said.
Meanwhile, the University Students’ Representative Council (SRC) urged students to return to class, claiming normalcy had resumed.
“As everything has resumed to normalcy, I urge you all to attend lectures in large numbers,” said SRC president Tendayi Victor Mushayi in a statement. “We anticipate a surge of knowledge as business returns to normal.”
However, AUT maintains that no meaningful learning will resume until lecturers’ demands — including a US$2,250 monthly salary — are met. Lecturers are currently being paid less than US$250 a month.
The university, in a separate internal memo, instructed chairpersons to begin lectures on Wednesday, and to submit names of lecturers willing to teach. It advised departments to liaise with Human Capital Management to fill any gaps with adjunct hires.
AUT said the university’s recent Research and Innovation Week was a “huge flop,” claiming only secretaries and security guards participated.
“Let it be known,” AUT posted on X, formerly Twitter, “there are no classes that will start at UZ for as long as lecturers’ demands are unmet.”
