After more than four weeks of a strike imposed by college lecturers in Zimbabwe, new salary hikes have been implemented, putting an end to the disruption, at least for the time being. A civil servant strike remains in effect for dozens of other workers throughout the country, however, and at present there is no end in sight for individuals who are employed in other government jobs.

The majority of these individuals only earn about $200 (US) per month, and workers are finally speaking out against the low pay rates that they have been receiving. College lecturers are the first group of government paid employees to receive pay raises, and they are now earning about $800 (US) per month. While certainly not satisfactory, workers seem to feel that at least a small amount of progress is being made.

The average monthly earnings throughout the region are approximately $2,000 (US), but college and university officials have consistently ranked far below that average because of severe inflation and a decade-long economic crisis. With the worst of the inflation problems now apparently brought under control, governmental salary adjustments can now start to take place. They are not, however, expected to be significant, or to provide workers with any real sense of relief.

Other workers who are paid by the Zimbabwe government are making increased demands for better pay, knowing that any raise they might receive will still not place them in a good financial position. Even small improvements, however, are viewed by workers as a step in the right direction, and many of them are hoping that greater changes will eventually occur from the current small steps that are being taken in a positive direction.

Research, science, and technology innovations are sorely lacking in the region because of the severe shortage of funding that colleges and universities have been experiencing over the past several years. Because of this lack of funds, researchers throughout Zimbabwe are unable to perform their work because they cannot afford to purchase the lab equipment they need. Despite government claims to be working on fixing their problems, little progress seems to have been made thus far.

Unfortunately, the good news of pay raises for college and university instructors also comes with more bad news for residents. Along with the increases in pay came an increase in the price of basic essentials. This translates to a greater amount of hardship for people who are still not making enough money each month to make ends meet, especially for those individuals who have families to feed and take care of.

There are currently less than 500 academic professionals in Zimbabwe, and the need is actually about 1,200. The pay increases that have been implemented will certainly help those who are currently teaching, but since the monthly salaries are still quite low, the increases are not expected to draw any new workers to institutions that have a serious shortage of qualified help in classrooms.