Degrees Packed, Dreams Exported

From Civil Servants to Border Jumpers…

By Brenna Matendera

As workers across the globe commemorated International Workers’ Day with calls for dignity, fair wages, and improved labour conditions, Zimbabwe’s labour movement painted a grim picture of despair, migration, and economic survival, warning that the country is steadily losing its most skilled professionals to foreign nations due to worsening governance challenges, poor remuneration, and prolonged economic instability.

For many Zimbabweans, migration has ceased to be a matter of ambition and has instead become a desperate escape from a collapsing economic environment that workers say no longer rewards professionalism, loyalty, or hard work. Teachers, nurses, engineers, lecturers, and medical doctors continue to leave the country in alarming numbers, seeking better opportunities abroad as frustration grows over low salaries, deteriorating working conditions, and policy inconsistencies that have eroded confidence in the future.

Ironically, while thousands of Zimbabweans continue crossing borders in search of greener pastures, many are now facing hostility, discrimination, and violent attacks in some host countries, particularly in South Africa, where anti-foreigner sentiments have once again resurfaced. Zimbabweans living in neighbouring countries are increasingly being viewed through the lens of poverty and desperation, despite many arguing that their migration is less about personal failure and more about governance failures back home.

Observers say the image of Zimbabweans as economic refugees often oversimplifies a far deeper national crisis rooted in political instability, economic mismanagement, corruption, and shrinking opportunities. What was once regarded as one of Africa’s strongest economies and most educated populations has, over the years, transformed into a nation exporting labour and skills to the world.

It is against this backdrop that the Progressive Teachers Union of Zimbabwe used Workers’ Day commemorations to issue a strongly worded plea to government, demanding urgent intervention to restore the dignity and value of educators.

In a statement released ahead of Workers’ Day, PTUZ President Takavafira Zhou lamented the deteriorating welfare of teachers and accused authorities of neglecting one of the country’s most critical professions.

“As PTUZ we join other workers nationally, regionally, continentally and globally in commemorating workers’ struggles from the 17th century, particularly the historic achievement of an 8-hour day,” Zhou said. “May Day serves as a global day of solidarity for workers to demand fair wages, better working conditions and recognition of labour rights.”

Yet for Zimbabwean teachers, he argued, the commemorations are now overshadowed by daily struggles to survive.

The union demanded a comprehensive salary review, calling for a minimum basic salary of US$540 per month, alongside rural and hardship allowances pegged at 30 percent of the basic salary, housing allowances ranging between US$200 and US$300, transport allowances of US$150, and education allowances of US$100. PTUZ further demanded the payment of other outstanding professional allowances, including those linked to Early Childhood Development classes, composite teaching, class teacher duties, and overcrowded classrooms.

According to Zhou, salaries must not only improve numerically but must also be paid in a “stable and functional currency,” a statement that reflects broader frustrations among civil servants over Zimbabwe’s volatile monetary environment.

The union also accused government of systematically undermining labour rights through outdated labour frameworks and unilateral policy decisions. PTUZ criticized the continued reliance on Statutory Instrument 141 of 1997, describing it as archaic and incompatible with modern labour relations.

The union further condemned what it called a “shambolic, callous and unilateral” job evaluation exercise conducted by the Public Service Commission of Zimbabwe, which reportedly downgraded teachers despite their qualifications, years of service, and responsibilities.

“We will continue to fight against the one-armed banditry reduction of teachers from grades E and D and lumping them into C3 grade in total disregard of their qualifications and service,” Zhou declared.

The frustrations extend beyond salaries and grading systems. PTUZ also raised concerns over alleged corruption in civil servant housing schemes dating back to the 1990s, accusing authorities of depriving workers of their right to shelter despite years of financial contributions.

Perhaps the most alarming concern raised by the union was the intensifying brain drain affecting Zimbabwe’s public and private sectors. PTUZ warned that the country is hemorrhaging skilled professionals at an unsustainable rate, threatening long-term national development.

“We note with concern the high level of brain drain in both public and private sectors in Zimbabwe that is bleeding all professions and retarding development,” Zhou said.

The union argued that unless urgent and permanent corrective measures are introduced, Zimbabwe risks becoming a nation that trains professionals only for them to serve foreign economies.

Indeed, across hospitals, schools, engineering firms, universities, and technical sectors, Zimbabwean professionals have become highly sought-after internationally due to their skills and resilience. However, their departure continues to leave critical gaps within local institutions already struggling with limited resources and staff shortages.

Workers also expressed frustration over what they described as excessive taxation reminiscent of the colonial Rhodesian era. PTUZ called on authorities to reduce taxes and widen tax-free thresholds to ease the burden on ordinary workers whose incomes continue to shrink under inflationary pressures and rising living costs.

For many Zimbabweans, the crisis has become deeply personal. Families are increasingly fragmented as breadwinners migrate abroad, children grow up separated from parents, and communities lose experienced professionals to foreign labour markets. At the same time, those who leave often find themselves navigating xenophobia, exploitation, and social exclusion in host countries.

Yet despite the hardships, migration remains one of the few available survival strategies for thousands.

Analysts say the situation reflects a painful contradiction, Zimbabwe continues to produce highly educated and globally competitive professionals, but its domestic environment is failing to retain them.

As the world marked Workers’ Day with themes of dignity and justice, Zimbabwean workers instead commemorated the occasion under the weight of economic uncertainty, stagnant wages, and a growing sense of abandonment.

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