The Department of Education turned up the heat on Thursday by dismissing teachers’ claims that the government has betrayed its salary promises.
Buck-passing within the government over teachers’ salaries has let down teachers and now puts the future of 700 000 matric learners currently writing exams at risk, all four teacher unions say. But ”at this stage there is no threat to the examinations”, according to a statement from the education department.
And the press release the South African Democratic Teachers’ Union (Sadtu) issued on Wednesday ”is full of unfounded claims and accusations, which do not deserve a full reply”, the department said.
The unions declared a dispute with the department on Thursday following a deadlock in the Education Labour Relations Council on Wednesday.
Central to the dispute is the backlog in teachers’ salaries from 1996 when, unions say, the government reneged on its agreement to establish a salary system based on performance. As a result, teachers received no performance-based increases from then until last year.
The unions are especially unhappy that neither the education department nor the Department of Public Service and Administration (which is formally responsible for paying public servants) appears willing to take responsibility for promises they made earlier this year in the general public service bargaining chamber to redress the 1996 to 2002 situation. The promises followed a six-month dispute, which led to the largest wage strike ever in South Africa.
Sadtu says the government on Wednesday backtracked on providing R180-million to address the backlogs.
”The employer … is … clearly in disarray,” Sadtu — the largest union — said.
Sadtu, the National Teachers’ Union, the National Professional Teachers’ Organisation of South Africa and the Suid Afrikaanse Onderywsersunie this week refused to sign the government’s revised offer.
Sadtu said there is now confusion about which ministry must find the R180-million needed to redress the backlog. The unions threatened to disrupt the marking of matric papers, as well as the normal opening of schools in January next year, if the dispute is not resolved.
The department said there ”is no reneging … nor is there any need to approach Treasury to find additional funds”.
If matric results are delayed, tertiary institutions ”will not know what to do and they will be thrown into chaos”, said Salim Vally, a senior researcher in Wits University’s Education Policy Unit.
The public service department said it had no comment.