Harare — Zimbabwe’s umbrella public-sector union has backed down from plans for a national strike, an official said on Thursday, citing the volatile situation in the country after violent protests this month were met by a security crackdown. But the main teachers’ union said on Thursday it was going ahead with a work stoppage from February 5, saying the country’s Apex Council is split between the education sector on one side and the rest of the civil service on the other. Wage negotiations between the government and the council, which represents 17 public sector unions, broke down on Wednesday. The unions then met to decide a date for a strike and announce it this week but the talks ended in disarray. The government’s 305,000 workers are demanding wage rises and payments in dollars to help them stave off spiraling inflation and an economic crisis that has sapped supplies of cash, fuel and medicines in state hospitals. “Apex feels that its not conducive to take action,” Cecilia Alexa...

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