Durban - REGISTRATION at Unisa has been extended until February 17 as staff at the institution returned to work after a strike that had brought operations to a near standstill.
Lusani Netshitomboni, acting director for communications and marketing at Unisa, said Unisa and the union went to the Labour Court last week to settle the matter and staff were told to return to work last Friday. The strike went on for more than two weeks and had been over salary increases and working conditions.
It also occurred when students protested over student debt, making it difficult for the university to respond to their demands.
“Registration has been extended to February 17. We encourage students to register online and if they have to, they can go their nearest Unisa office. We are still dealing with a backlog,” said Netshitomboni.
Khaya Xaba, National Education, Health and Allied Workers’ Union spokesperson, said negotiations were continuing between the two parties. “We decided to suspend the strike,” he said.
He added that they were willing to take an 8% increase compared to the 6.1% offer by Unisa. “The increase offered does not improve the lives of workers,” he said.
Meanwhile, at the University of KwaZulu-Natal, negotiations between the students representative council and management were ongoing. The university said the academic programme was suspended until further notice. It was suspended after violent student protests rocked the university and resulted in a number of buildings being burned.
Mangosuthu University of Technology was also in negotiations with its SRC. According to SRC president Tumelo Moalosi, the bone of contention between the two parties was apparently about students who wanted to continue their studies after completing their undergraduate studies.
Earlier this week, students embarked on a protest over funding issues.