18 UNIONS, ZERO POWER: WHY IT’S TIME FOR ZAMBIAN TEACHERS TO UNIFY .
Zambia has 18 registered teacher unions — and yet teachers still can’t get a strong seat at the negotiating table. Something doesn’t add up..
Think about it: 18 unions to represent one profession is more than the number of political parties contesting for the same voters. When representation multiplies faster than results, the problem isn’t a lack of organizations — it’s a lack of unity.
Every splinter union dilutes teachers’ bargaining power. Government negotiators don’t have to face one strong, unified voice demanding better salaries, housing allowances, and working conditions — they face 18 competing voices, each fighting for relevance, membership dues, and a seat at the table more than for the actual welfare of teachers.
Fragmentation doesn’t empower teachers. It empowers whoever they’re negotiating against.
18 TEACHER UNIONS AS COMPILED BY ZEIC
• SPETUZ: Special Education Teachers Union of Zambia
• NEUZ: National Educators’ Union of Zambia
• PROTUZ: Professional Teachers Union of Zambia
• BETUZ: Basic Education Teachers Union of Zambia
• ZNUT: Zambia National Union of Teachers
• SESTUZ: Secondary School Teachers Union of Zambia
• UNITUZ: United Teachers Union of Zambia
• DTUZ: Degree Teachers Union of Zambia
• NATUZ: National Union of Teachers of Zambia
• NUPPEZ: National Union for Public and Private Educators of Zambia
• PEUZ: Primary Educators Union of Zambia
• ARTUZ: Academic and Research Teachers Union of Zambia
• EdTUZ: Education Teachers Union of Zambia
• ZUNGPAW: Zambia Union of Non-Governmental and Private Academic Workers
• RESTUZ: Real Estate and Specialized Teachers Union of Zambia
• ZATU: Zambia Teachers Union
• ZUTE: Zambia Union of Technical Educators
• ZUPE: Zambia Union of Public Educators
If political parties can agree to form pacts and alliances to consolidate power, why can’t unions representing the same profession, facing the same employer, over the same issues, do the same?
Zambian teachers deserve one strong, credible voice — not 18 fragments of one.
How can a single profession have 18 different unions—a number that almost rivals the count of active political parties registered during an election year?
Here is why having 18 unions is actually hurting teachers rather than helping them:
1. Divide and Conquer Strategy
When representation is split into 18 tiny pieces, the collective bargaining power of the teaching body vanishes. A fragmented union landscape makes it easy for the employer (the government) to play organizations off against one another. While unions are busy competing with each other for members, the real bargaining power disappears.
2. Union Dues as a Business Model
Let’s call a spade a spade: founding a union has become an lucrative venture. Every month, a chunk of a teacher’s hard-earned salary goes to union subscriptions. Instead of these funds pooling together to build a strong legal, research, and advocacy machine, they are diluted across 18 separate administrative structures, financing 18 sets of secretariats, vehicles, and executive allowances.
3. Leadership Ambition over Teacher Welfare
Why do new unions keep breaking off from older ones? It is rarely about a difference in core ideology; it is often about who gets to sit in the President’s or General Secretary’s chair. When leaders fall out over internal elections or administrative control, they simply go and register a new acronym.
4. Loss of Direct Strike and Negotiation Power
In trade unionism, power lies strictly in numbers and solidarity. If one union calls for an action and three others refuse to sign off or actively campaign against it, the movement fails before it starts. 18 unions mean 18 different voices at the negotiation table, allowing the employer to pick the path of least resistance.
Teachers don’t need 18 options; they need one unified, uncompromising voice. Until educators demand a consolidation or merger of these bloated entities, subscription fees will continue funding executive comfort while the classroom teacher continues to struggle.
By Kaonga Boyd Jr,
Muntungwa Village, Mafinga District.