Fellow educators, comrades, and allies, As we approach one of the most defining moments in our union’s history, I write to you not just as your president, but as a fellow teacher, a worker, and a believer in the power of collective action. The Amalgamated Rural Teachers Union of Zimbabwe (ARTUZ) Congress 2025 is upon us a critical platform where we gather to reflect, recalibrate, and recommit to our struggle.
The 2025 ARTUZ Congress will convene on the 25th – 27th of April, bringing together our provincial representatives, union leaders, frontline educators, and allies. This will not be an ordinary meeting, it is a congress of action, strategy, and resistance. It comes at a time when the challenges we face are immense, but so is our resolve.
Under the powerful theme, “Engendering a Growth and Fight Back Strategy,” we will dissect and debate the core issues affecting our sector and our lives. Among the key items on the agenda:
Access to Education: How do we defend the right of every child regardless of geography or economic status to free and quality education?
Labour Justice: What strategies will secure a living wage, job security, and dignity for every teacher?
Defending Democracy: How do we protect the rights of workers and students in an environment increasingly hostile to dissent?
Resource Governance: Why does our education sector suffer while the powerful squander resources? How can we hold the government accountable?
Solidarity and Partnerships: How do we build and strengthen alliances with local and global partners in the fight for educational and social justice?
These discussions are not just theoretical. They form the backbone of our union’s growth strategy and our commitment to defend our space in the struggle.
Our democracy as a union begins from the ground up. Resolutions from the provincial congresses rich with the wisdom of our members across Zimbabwe will be tabled, discussed, and adopted. These resolutions will shape our action plans, campaigns, and engagements in the coming years.
This congress is yours. Whether you are a teacher in Binga, a headmaster in Marondera, or a union rep in Mutare your voice, your experience, your courage matters. I urge every delegate to come ready to engage, contribute, and carry the flame of resistance forward. Let this not be just another congress, let it be the moment we sharpen our tools, rebuild our structures and reignite our revolutionary fire.
In the face of poor salaries, crumbling infrastructure, policy inconsistency, and political intimidation, we say: enough is enough. The system has failed us and only we can rewrite our story.
Let me be clear: this congress is not a retreat it’s a regrouping. It’s not an end it’s a launchpad. As your president, I pledge to steer this process with full commitment, guided by the principles of justice, transparency, and transformation.
In the words of our Secretary General:
“We are our own liberators.”
Let this be our rallying cry. Let’s organise, let’s fight back, and let’s grow, for ourselves, our learners, and our future.
See you at Congress.
In Solidarity,
Obert Masaraure
President, Amalgamated Rural Teachers Union of Zimbabwe (ARTUZ)