/ 3 February 2009

TUT gives unions final wage offer as strike continues

Tensions were brewing at the Tshwane University of Technology (TUT) campus on Monday as strike action by university staff continued.

The strike was launched last month by the National Education, Health and Allied Workers Union (Nehawu) and the National Union of Tertiary Employees of South Africa (Nutesa) over wage increases.

University management gave the unions until the end of business on Monday to respond to a final wage increase offer of 10%.

However, Nehawu branch treasurer Lazarus Mthetha said: “What the management is not telling the public is that we initially came up with the universal 10% wage increment for all staff members and they are proposing a conditional one.”

The implication would be “some staff members would only get 8% and some even a 6% increase”, which the union is rejecting, said Mthetha.

Willa de Ruyter, the university’s spokesperson, disputed Mthetha’s claims. He said only 303 people whose salaries have been capped would be affected.

The unions were expected to make their representation at a press conference at 9am on Tuesday at the Pretoria campus.

The strike has left students in the dark about their academic future.

Charlotte Nkosi, a third-year student, said she was one of many students barred from entering the TUT campus to write her exit examination. Some were prevented from registering, while others were unsure about whether they would qualify for late application as administration staff were not present to assist them.

Student representative council (SRC) president Lincoln Morgan announced recently that the SRC would buy into the strike action in support of the unions because students were compromised in this process. Morgan said that “management has since agreed to discuss a recovery plan for lost academic time”.

Meanwhile, TUT released a circular announcing that registration at the university was continuing as usual.

“Even though the official closing date for registration was on Friday, the university will, as far as possible, accommodate students who couldn’t register as a result of the strike,” the university said, adding that the closing date had been extended to February 6.

Senior students were advised to take advantage of online registration.