The Department of Education criticised the KwaZulu-Natal branch of the South African Democratic Teachers’ Union (Sadtu) on Friday for holding a meeting at 10am on a school day, leaving children unattended.
Director general Duncan Hindle said a school principal had forwarded a copy of a letter notifying members of the meeting on March 6, and expressed his concern that at least 10 classes at his school were affected.
”The national leadership of Sadtu has spoken out about the need for focused ‘time on task’ as part of the non-negotiables in education, and we therefore look forward to them taking severe action against their members who have clearly contravened this policy position, and in doing so, have undermined that national struggle for quality education for all,” Hindle said in a statement.
However, Sadtu told the South African Press Association that it had a long-standing agreement in terms of the Labour Relations Act that it could hold an eight-hour meeting once a year to update members on pertinent issues.
The last meeting had been held in 2004 and ”perhaps they have forgotten about it”, said provincial secretary general Sipho ”KK” Nkosi.
However, Hindle said: ”We must make it absolutely clear that there are no agreements of any sort which allow for this kind of irresponsible behaviour, as claimed by the regional secretary of Sadtu.”
”Put simply, any time off school, for whatever reason, requires the written, prior approval of the department, which in this case was neither requested nor given,” said Hindle.
Nkosi countered that as a former vice-president of Sadtu, Hindle should have known about the agreement, brokered by a former education minister Sibusiso Bengu.
He said if children had been left unattended it was because principals had concentrated on complaining about the meeting, instead of mobilising substitutes.
As a school principal he had informed parents of the meeting and told them to make sure their children were collected by 9.30am, but union members were under no obligation to send written notice.
”Why should we waste our paper? We are not bound to communicate with non-members of Sadtu.”
The union was also not obliged to hold this meeting on a Saturday or Sunday.
”Why all the time teachers must sacrifice? Is it because we don’t have rights?” he asked. ”People must understand that teachers are part of the working class and the law of the Labour Relations Act applies to them as well.”
The union had held seven of these meetings in the different regions of the province. – Sapa