Cape Town - Strike action is looming for the Cape Peninsula University of Technology after talks with workers over salary and service conditions deadlocked at the weekend.
The declaration of deadlock was formally conveyed to CPUT Vice- Chancellor Dr Prins Nevhutalu on Friday in a notice from the joint unions task team.
The declaration was signed by Cape Peninsula Educators Union chairman Ben Turner, Sello Nkwana, deputy chairman of the National Education Health and Allied Workers Union (Nehawu) and National Tertiary Educators Union chairman Hennie Pretorius.
The statement informed the vice- chancellor the task team had received a mandate and members would be prepared for the “inevitable pursuit of protected industrial action against CPUT in terms of the recognition agreement and the Labour Relations Act”.
It gave the institution five working days to discuss methods of resolving the issues, a prerequisite before pursuing industrial action.
Nkwana said while other tertiary institutions had made commitments on the in-sourcing of services, CPUT had not communicated its position, which had angered workers.
CPUT spokesman Norman Jacobs confirmed the institution had received the deadlock notice.
He said CPUT was offering the workers a 7 percent increase, which had been mandated by the university council, an increase on its initial offer of 6 percent which he said, “is all we can afford, as it would be grossly irresponsible to offer more”.
He said the institution was already in deficit after it had been “hard hit by the #FeesMustFall campaign”.
On the looming threat of the chaos that widespread industrial action would bring to the campus, Jacobs said: “We are hoping to find each other in further negotiations, and hoping to avert industrial action.”
Weekend Argus