Zimbabwean union worries about uptick in suicide due to economic hardship

Economic hardships, high inflation and the rising cost of living are driving Zimbabweans to suicide.

Last week, teacher and mother of three Miriam Manyarara from Mwenezi district in the Masvingo province was reported to have died by suicide. The Amalgamated Teachers’ Union of Zimbabwe (Artuz), which represents about 35,000 teachers in impoverished rural areas, said Manyarara was found hanging in her house by colleagues.

Recently a police officer hanged himself at Parirenyatwa Hospital in Harare after telling doctors his salary was too low to support his family.

The teachers union is running a hashtag #speakout campaign on social media.

“The teaching profession is losing some of the best teachers to suicide. We mourn the departed and urge the living to #speakout against slave wages.”

Union president Obert Masaraure said teachers and public servants were suffering in silence. “It is very unfortunate that we have a serious mental health crisis in Zimbabwe, which is not being attended to. We have a serious issue of underpayment which triggers mental health illness. Unfortunately, we have teachers who are taking their lives, police officers who are taking their lives.

"They are underpaid and no one is paying attention to their urgent needs. People are suffering in silence and committing suicide,” Masaraure said.

"As a union, we urge the government of the day to have policy interventions that can address the crisis and to pay teachers and other civil servants a living wage to enable them to deal with challenges they face daily,” said Masaraure.

There are 135,000 teachers employed in Zimbabwean public schools and they earn about ZWL$70,000 (about R3,621) and a monthly allowance the government pays its workers of $250 (about R4,681). Over the past three years, Zimbabwean teachers have embarked on repeated industrial action for improved salaries and working conditions.

In an article published in the Zimbabwean state-owned Sunday Mail newspaper, minister of public service, labour and social welfare Paul Mavima said the government was looking at giving public-sector workers a new salary package to “cushion them from the rising cost of living”.

“As has always been the case with government, our workers are important to us. We are looking at all possibilities including effecting an increase of US dollars  as well as a pay increase in local currency,” said Mavima.

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