By Paul Nyathi|The much awaited 14th May deliberations between government and teachers that set aside the teachers mass industrial action of last week have failed to yield anything.

The talks held between leaders of teachers representatives and the Ministry of Primary and Secondary Education collapsed as the teachers still could not agree on the renewed offer by government.

In a statement issued by the Secretary General of the Zimbabwe Teachers Association, ZIMTA, Tapson Nganunu Sibanda on Tuesday, the teachers declared that a deadlock with their employer is now unavoidable.

The government is reported to have upped its previous salary increase by 5% to 15% across the board. The government also offered to increase the rural allowance to 5%.

The teachers rejected the salary increase offer demanding that government should increase salaries to match the current poverty datum line.

According to Zimstat’s latest release of the Poverty Analysis in Zimbabwe, the poverty datum line stands at $574 for an average household of 5 and $114 for a self-sustaining individual, depending on location (provincial stats).

A poverty datum line (PDL) represents the cost of a given standard of living that must be attained if a person is deemed not to be poor. Teachers are currently earning less than $400 per month.

In its proposals government also undertook to pay the 38 000 overdue pay in lieu of leave, which it had suspended, by the 1st of July this year.

The teachers demanded a commitment with modalities and timeframes how the money will be paid before government asked for a deferment of the meeting to the 16th of May, 2018.

“The Wednesday 16 May 2018 National Joint Negotiating Committee will be third and final before we can declare a deadlock, members will be consulted on the way forward,” said the ZIMTA statement.