Cape Town - More than 200 employees at the National Student Financial Aid Scheme (NSFAS) protested outside its offices in Wynberg yesterday, demanding higher salaries and other improvements.
The National Education, Health and Allied Workers’ Union (Nehawu) spokesperson Khaya Xaba said the protest comes after serving the employer with a notice to strike on September 25, with salary negotiations started on June 12.
Xaba said that was before they deadlocked on September 10 at the Commission for Conciliation, Mediation and Arbitration.
He said a certificate to strike was received by Nehawu on September 21, which was subsequently followed by a balloting process, in line with the Labour Relations Act.
“All our members voted unanimously for the strike action to take place. In this regard, Nehawu members embarked on an industrial action and the strike action will continue indefinitely, until our demands are successfully met by the employer,” Xaba said.
Nehawu provincial secretary Eric Kweleta said workers demanded an 8% salary increase, while the employer offered no increase.
Kweleta said the strike would be used to highlight workers’ anger over lack of an integrated performance management system, automated IT system for disbursement of funds to students, appointment of a chief executive and a board, and the illegal extension of the administrator.
He said some of the demands included an adoption of the government employees’ pension fund and other alternative pension fund service providers as the current one was ineffective, implementation of progressive human resources policies for workers’ development, defunct human resources systems and outdated policies, and unfair suspensions and victimisation of workers based on union affiliation.
“Since our strike action last year in August, our members have been patient with the employer with the hope that things will turn for the better, but instead of improvements, their situation is turning more dire by the day,” Kweleta said.
NSFAS administrator Randall Carolissen said the union initially demanded a 13% increment, which was later revised to 8%. Subsequent to multiple deliberations, the employer then proposed a final counter-offer of 4.3% which was rejected by Nehawu and has led to the current deadlock.
Carolissen said due to the Covid-19 state of disaster, and direct implications of the lockdown on the economy, the government had previously earmarked 4.4% salary increase for lower paid servants and no increase at all for those in higher income brackets.
“Government has put forward a proposal for a zero increment or a wage freeze for the 2020/21 financial year. Due to these developments, NSFAS will further engage National Treasury for a mandate on the increment matter,” he said.
He said he was of the view that they had been negotiating and engaging in good faith with the union, and would continue to engage to reach amicable solutions.
Cape Argus