Johannesburg - Nehawu members will protest on Wednesday against what the union says is the deterioration of higher education.
“The management of the department is very polarising and is embarking in unashamed union bashing,” National Education, Health and Allied Workers' Union (Nehawu) spokesman Sizwe Pamla said in a statement on Tuesday.
The Further Education and Training College employees would march to the department's offices in Pretoria, and in KwaZulu-Natal and the Eastern Cape.
Pamla said the department's management colluded with principals to stall the government-initiated migration of colleges to the department and conspired with them to “neutralise” Nehawu.
The department could not immediately be reached for comment.
The union was concerned about alleged cronyism and nepotism in the appointment of college principals and senior managers in the Skills Education and Training Authorities (Seta).
“Setas are characterised by the poor management of funds and lack of accountability by senior managers,” Pamla claimed.
He said whites were chosen over blacks for management positions and that white, untransformed service providers, in areas like forensic auditing, were given preference.
“There is constant subjective attack on black managers, from previously disadvantaged universities, and the mollycoddling of white managers, from historically privileged universities by the DG (director general),” Pamla said.
The union accused the department of failing to provide oversight to all universities placed under administration by Higher Education Minister Blade Nzimande.
The union called on Nzimande to intervene and provide guidance.
Sapa