The University of Pretoria employees strike demanding 7% salary increase. Picture: Oupa Mokoena / Independent Newspapers
The National Education, Health and Allied Workers Union (Nehawu) will be pinning their hopes for a resolution to the long-standing wage strike on the intervention of the Commission for Conciliation, Mediation and Arbitration (CCMA).
Workers affiliated with Nehawu at the University of Pretoria (UP) have been on strike since February 15, demanding a 7% wage hike. However, the university has only offered a 4% wage increase as a result of financial constraints.
A burgeoning student debt, inability to increase fees as a result of restrictions placed by the Department of Higher Education and Training, and costs to related to keeping the university running amid the persistent load shedding in the country were among some of the reasons provided by the university as to its inability to offer workers above 4%.
The union has rubbished comments of the university not affording anything higher to the 13 000 affected workers, and listed several demands that workers were demanding be met before it calls for an end to the strike, failing which the strike action would be intensified.
The demands include a 7% salary increase across the board; a 13th cheque; five days’ leave encashment; an extension of long-service bonus to include not only those with 20 years’ service, but also 10 and 15 years; and a once-off R7 000 bonus.
Tlou Matuba, UP Nehawu chairperson, said workers remained on the picket lines and were more grateful to have received support from the region.
Matuba said as it stood, nothing had changed between the stance of the workers and that of the university management to date.
He said, however, a meeting had been scheduled for the weekend between the union leaders, university management and the presence of a commissioner from the CCMA.
“For now workers remain here on the picket line, but they are adamant that no demands met means that they will not return to work.”
The university was yet to confirm the meeting.
The Star
goitsemang.matlhabe@inl.co.za