VOA标准英语2009年-Zimbabwe Teachers Threaten Class Boycott

A Zimbabwean teachers' union is threatening to boycott¹ classes every Friday if a number of their grievances² including low pay are not addressed.

Progressive Teachers' Union of Zimbabwe president Takavafira Zhou announced the intended boycott at a press conference in Harare.

"We resolve to boycott classes and stay away from schools on Fridays beginning the 10th and 17th of July 2009. We will further boycott classes and stay away from schools on every Thursday and Friday starting on the 23rd of July if government does not respond to our action by the 17th of July 2009," Zhou said.

In addition to the boycotts³, Zhou said teachers would march in all urban centers on the Fridays they would not be at work.

Zhou said his union has been pushed to act because the government had shown bad faith by not meeting any of the promises agreed to when the teachers went back to work earlier this year.

Some agreements, such as the re-hiring of teachers who had left the service with no questions asked have now been reversed. Some of those teachers who had taken up the offer, he noted⁴, are now being asked to stop work while they are being in his words "vetted⁵" by the government. Another issue of major concern to the teachers Zhou said is the alleged⁶ deployment⁷ of ZANU-PF militia⁸ at schools by the ministry⁹ of youth.

"We are also disturbed by the presence of youth militias¹⁰ in schools and the militarization of the ministry of education through the appointment of former state security officers at head office as well as heads of schools," Zhou said.

Zhou said the deployment of the youth militia is particularly worrying as the youths are blamed for some of the violence that accompanied last year's general election campaign. President Robert Mugabe's Zanu-PF party has accused teachers of being supporters of the Movement for Democratic Change led by Morgan Tsvangirai who is now prime minister in the unity¹¹ government.

Teachers returned to work in March after agreeing on a monthly salary of $100. The PTUZ says the agreement was that teachers' pay would be reviewed every month but to date this has not been done. Attempts to get comment from the ministry of education were unsuccessful.

1 boycott   

n./v.(联合)抵制，拒绝参与

参考例句：

• We put the production under a boycott.我们联合抵制该商品。
• The boycott lasts a year until the Victoria board permitsreturn.这个抗争持续了一年直到维多利亚教育局妥协为止。

2 grievances   

n.委屈( grievance的名词复数 )；苦衷；不满；牢骚

参考例句：

• The trade union leader spoke about the grievances of the workers. 工会领袖述说工人们的苦情。 来自《现代英汉综合大词典》
• He gave air to his grievances. 他申诉了他的冤情。 来自《简明英汉词典》

3 boycotts   

（对某事物的）抵制( boycott的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• Their methods included boycotts and court action, supplemented by'sit-ins". 他们的主要方法包括联合抵制、法庭起诉，还附带进行静坐抗议。
• Are boycotts for other purposes illegal? 至于用于其它目的的联合抵制行动是否也是非法的呢？

4 noted   

adj.著名的，知名的

参考例句：

• The local hotel is noted for its good table.当地的那家酒店以餐食精美而著称。
• Jim is noted for arriving late for work.吉姆上班迟到出了名。

5 vetted   

v.审查（某人过去的记录、资格等）( vet的过去式和过去分词 )；调查；检查；诊疗

参考例句：

• The recruits were thoroughly vetted before they were allowed into the secret service. 情报机关招募的新成员要经过严格的审查。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• All staff are vetted for links with extremist groups before being employed. 所有职员录用前均须审查是否与极端分子团体有关。 来自辞典例句

6 alleged   

a.被指控的，嫌疑的

参考例句：

• It was alleged that he had taken bribes while in office. 他被指称在任时收受贿赂。
• alleged irregularities in the election campaign 被指称竞选运动中的不正当行为

7 deployment   

n. 部署,展开

参考例句：

• He has inquired out the deployment of the enemy troops. 他已查出敌军的兵力部署情况。
• Quality function deployment (QFD) is a widely used customer-driven quality, design and manufacturing management tool. 质量功能展开(quality function deployment,QFD)是一个广泛应用的顾客需求驱动的设计、制造和质量管理工具。

8 militia   

n.民兵，民兵组织

参考例句：

• First came the PLA men,then the people's militia.人民解放军走在前面，其次是民兵。
• There's a building guarded by the local militia at the corner of the street.街道拐角处有一幢由当地民兵团守卫的大楼。

9 ministry   

n.(政府的)部；牧师

参考例句：

• They sent a deputation to the ministry to complain.他们派了一个代表团到部里投诉。
• We probed the Air Ministry statements.我们调查了空军部的记录。

10 militias   

n.民兵组织，民兵( militia的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• The troops will not attempt to disarm the warring militias. 部队并不打算解除战斗中的民兵武装。 来自辞典例句
• The neighborhood was a battleground for Shiite and Sunni militias. 那里曾是什叶派和逊尼派武装分子的战场。 来自互联网

11 unity   

n.团结，联合，统一；和睦，协调

参考例句：

• When we speak of unity,we do not mean unprincipled peace.所谓团结，并非一团和气。
• We must strengthen our unity in the face of powerful enemies.大敌当前，我们必须加强团结。