University of Zimbabwe Faces Shutdown as Salary Dispute Escalates

Lecturers at the University of Zimbabwe have been on strike for 58 days over low wages, with salaries withheld, academic activities paralysed, and growing student unrest amid stalled negotiations.

The University of Zimbabwe (UZ) is in the grip of a deepening crisis as striking lecturers have now gone 58 days without salaries, following the university’s decision to withhold their pay in response to ongoing industrial action. The standoff is severely disrupting academic operations and fuelling unrest among students.

Lecturers, represented by the Association of University Teachers (AUT), have been demanding a return to pre-2018 wage levels of US$2,250 per month for junior academic staff. Currently, lecturers earn around US$230, a figure the AUT describes as grossly inadequate given Zimbabwe’s spiralling cost of living.

In a strongly worded statement, AUT spokesperson Dr Obvious Vengeyi condemned the salary cuts as an attempt to coerce staff into abandoning the strike.
“Of course, it is an act of trying to force our members to return to work for the US$230 they initially rejected,” said Dr Vengeyi. “It’s a way of arm-twisting certain members of our community to resume teaching. But many of us remain resolute—whether we are paid or not, we will not return until the wage issue is resolved.”

The university administration has so far remained silent on the strike, but last month moved to recruit temporary adjunct lecturers in an attempt to fill the gaps left by the protesting staff. However, the AUT has dismissed these efforts, arguing that most of the replacements lack the academic credentials and experience required to teach at a tertiary level.

“There is no proper teaching happening at the university. No supervision is taking place. A few scabs have been hired to replace the striking lecturers, but they are not qualified to maintain academic standards,” Vengeyi added.

The impact of the strike has been far-reaching. Examinations have been indefinitely postponed, and large portions of the academic calendar are now in jeopardy. The disruption has sparked mounting frustration among students, culminating in flash protests last month. At least six students were arrested during a demonstration demanding the return of their lecturers.

The situation reflects broader unrest within Zimbabwe’s public education and health sectors, where professionals have long decried poor remuneration, inadequate resources, and government inaction. Efforts by unions to seek intervention through dialogue and protests have so far yielded little progress.

As the strike continues with no resolution in sight, fears are growing that the university’s academic year may be lost, compounding challenges for thousands of students and threatening the institution’s long-standing reputation as Zimbabwe’s premier university.