Education Minister Naledi Pandor will meet with the South African Democratic Teachers’ Union (Sadtu) to discuss ”all the matters” raised at a meeting of union leaders in which mass action was threatened.
Education spokesperson Lunga Ngqengelele said on Tuesday: ”The minister has always emphasised that she is willing to meet with Sadtu on any matter, and yet the union found it necessary to threaten mass action before they have even had the courtesy of raising their concerns with the minister.”
On Monday following a national executive committee (NEC) meeting on the weekend, Sadtu described a proposed pay increase of 4% to 5,3% offered to public servants as an insult.
The NEC said it supported the call from other Cosatu (Congress of South African Trade Unions) unions to reject the offer — made by the Department of Public Service and Administration — and to start mobilising members for mass action.
Public sector unions presented a demand for a 12% increase in October last year.
Pandor said she would meet with Sadtu to discuss ”all the matters” raised in a press statement released after the NEC meeting.
The minister expressed disappointment that Sadtu had ”found it necessary to use the media” to request a meeting with her.
The Sadtu NEC statement addressed issues on the budget, labour relations, and the tripartite alliance with the South African Communist Party and the African National Congress. — Sapa