29 nabbed at #OutsourcingMustFall protest

Picture: @almazsithole/Twitter

Picture: @almazsithole/Twitter

Published Feb 5, 2016

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Durban - Almost 30 Durban University of Technology students, security and cleaning staff have been arrested as the #OutsourcingMustFall campaign hit KwaZulu-Natal.

Police spokeswoman, Lieutenant Nqobile Gwala, said police had been alerted to the “illegal” protest against privatisation at the DUT’s Steve Biko campus on Thursday.

The 12 men and 17 women, aged between 22 and 56, have been charged with contravening the Gatherings Act. Many of them were students, most part of the EFF structure at the university.

Leader, Bonginkosi Khanyile, spoke to the Daily News from the holding cells at the Berea police station yesterday.

He said the EFF students had met security and cleaning staff – who work for independent companies contracted by DUT– last week, to discuss worker issues. They learnt of the “measly” worker wages and “deplorable” treatment meted out to the employees by their respective companies.

“There is a huge disparity between what the contractors are paid by DUT and what the workers receive. All we are asking for is that the workers are directly employed by DUT and are paid R10 000 each. This will actually save the university money in the long term because they will be paying a fraction of what they are giving to the outsourced companies,” Khanyile said.

This is the same amount demanded by workers at the Tshwane University, where the academic programme has been suspended after #OutsourcingMustFall ructions.

The Durban group had prepared a memorandum and delivered it to outgoing vice-chancellor Ahmed Bawa’s office on Wednesday, giving him 24 hours to respond.

“We sent him an e-mail that night to remind him to respond, but we got nothing in the morning.”

The group gathered at ML Sultan campus and marched to Bawa’s office to demand a response. “We were greeted by police and the security company’s tactical unit.”

Khanyile said Bawa did not come out to address them. Instead police presented them with a letter explaining that their gathering was illegal and not supported by the “ANC”-affiliated SRC, he said.

When they did not disperse after the 30 minutes they were given, they were arrested, filling two police vans and a minibus.

“Those who were left behind because the police vans were full marched to the police station in solidarity, but they were dispersed by a water cannon,” Khanyile said.

EFF’s KZN deputy chairman, Jackie Shandu, said they supported the students, as did the “mother body” nationally.

“They (government) are spitting in the faces of people who voted them into power by allowing them to be exploited by labour brokers and private companies.”

Shandu said the EFF had provided the arrested students and staff with legal assistance.

Bawa acknowledged receipt of the memorandum, but said since the EFF was affiliated with the SRC, he asked it to raise its concerns via the SRC.

He said they had not yet had any communication from the cleaning and security staff, but only with the EFF student organisation.

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Daily News

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