NASUWT continued its longstanding support of trade unions in Zimbabwe by attending the Progressive Teachers Union of Zimbabwe (PTUZ) National Policy Conference in Harare.

The Union’s Junior Vice President Fred Brown and Website Coordinator Tariq Arafa joined 200 delegates from the host nation and from across Africa to share experiences about education and trade unionism in their respective countries under the theme “Education Under Siege”.

Mr Brown delivered a keynote address in which he said it was “a huge honour” to be invited to an event that was so critical to the development of education on the continent.

Teachers in Zimbabwe share many of the concerns of their British counterparts such as salaries, pupil indiscipline and teacher recruitment.

But the threats facing them as trade unionists are considerably more menacing. The PTUZ General Secretary and President have been arrested and tortured 36 times and ordered to denounce the organisations they represent. Yet in the face of such brutality, they have refused to relent.