fla
EDUC-KZN-SADTU
DURBAN Sept 20 Sapa
SADTU ENDS KZN PROTEST
The KwaZulu-Natal education department has met "80 percent" of Sadtu's demands, bringing to an end a six-month work-to-rule protest, the union said on Friday.
SA Democratic Teachers' Union provincial deputy secretary Nomarashiya Caluza said a memorandum of understanding had been signed between the union and the department earlier in the week.
The protest started in April.
She told reporters in Durban the department had committed an amount of R367 million to meeting the union's demands.
Some of the union's grievances were that Grade R teachers were not being paid enough, Grade 12 examination markers had not received an increase in salary, and some teachers and non-teaching staff were not on improved salary grades.
"About 80 percent of our demands have been met. Yesterday 1/8Thursday 3/8, teachers were paid some of the money owing to them," she said.
One of the key demands not met, was refunding money docked en mass from teachers during a 2010 strike.
Caluza said the department was failing to adhere to a court order obtained by the union, forcing the department to refund money docked from teachers' pay during the strike.
According to Caluza, the court had ordered the department to check what each and every teacher was doing during the strike as not all teachers had gone on strike.
She said the union was drawing up papers to take the department to court on the issue.
Comment could not immediately be obtained from the department.
Sapa
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