Johannesburg - Cosatu believes that the SA Democratic Teachers Union (Sadtu) is being used as a scapegoat for all the country’s ills and current flaws in education.
This comes after the union, affiliated to Cosatu, has been fingered in a jobs-for-cash scam.
A ministerial task team (MTT) report, which was first set to have been released in February, was due for release last week by Basic Education Minister Angie Motshekga. While it has not yet been officially released, it has been leaked to the media.
The document reportedly says that it is common place for Sadtu’s members to allegedly be involved in “jobs for cash” schemes, and accuses the union of holding the education system hostage.
Cosatu said in a statement on Tuesday that the federation was disturbed by the attacks being directed on its affiliate.
National spokesman Sizwe Pamla said: “Some biased social commentators and civil society organisations have used the leaked Ministerial Task Team report to attack Sadtu and the federation. This important investigation into the conduct of teachers should not be used to settle scores and score cheap political points.”
The federation was now convinced that previous deferments of the release of the report while leaking its content was a well calculated move to denigrate Sadtu’s public standing.
“We want to caution those on a witch-hunt that it’s not an open season on our affiliate Sadtu. We will not take their malice, cowardice and savage onslaught against the union lying down,” said Pamla.
He added that the courts would provide justice in the end. The union is considering legal action.
Sadtu has maintained that while some individual members may be implicated, it has never endorsed nor encouraged their behaviour.
“They have given full cooperation to the task team and it’s not acceptable for the department to allow this smear job to be unleashed on Sadtu. We await the release of the report and we hope it will accommodate all the sides of the story and will not be one-sided,” said Pamla.
The document is expected to be released on Friday.
Labour Bureau