A CONTINENTAL academic lobby group has demanded the government address the grievances raised by the suspended University of Zimbabwe (UZ) lecturers.

The Africa Coalition on Academic Freedom (ACAF) has written to the Minister of Tertiary and Higher Education, Fredrick Shava, bemoaning the institution?s handling of last year?s strike at the UZ.

In the letter, ACAF raised concerns over the shrinking space for academic freedom, marked by the thwarting of trade unionism.

?We share AUT’s position that joining a trade union and engaging in strike actions are legitimate rights, enshrined in the national and international laws in force in Zimbabwe.

?Therefore, the attempts to politicise trade union activities and subject members to such ordeals are concerning and deemed unjustified. In this regard, the AUT, as a non-political organisation, has the right to organise and exercise its legal and legitimate functions in accordance with national and international laws, without being subjected to intimidation, arrests, demotions, among others.

?Given the violations committed against AUT, ACAF respectfully requests the direct intervention of your good office to enter into constructive dialogue with AUT, reverse all decisions made against the leadership and members of AUT and the union itself that violate academic and trade union freedoms,? reads the letter.

Last year, UZ lecturers embarked on industrial action, demanding an increase in their salaries. They demanded US$2,250, up from their current US$230.

The tutors refused to conduct examinations, instead picketing outside the university.

In response, UZ suspended the leadership of the AUT, the body representing the lecturers.

?These violations, documented by ACAF and confirmed by the leadership of the Association of University Teachers (AUT) in Zimbabwe and through interviews with other human rights defenders, indicate a troubling pattern of disregard for academic freedom and trade union rights in Zimbabwe, contrary to the international laws and norms to which Zimbabwe is a State Party,? the letter further reads.