Union stages protest over corruption claims at UCT
Nehawu calls for equal treatment as senior manager faces disciplinary action
AGROUP of Nehawu members protested at UCT yesterday, calling for the removal of a staff member – said to be a senior manager – who the union claimed was involved in alleged corrupt activities at the university.
Nehawu chairwoman Patricia Bevie, who led the protest outside the sports centre, said the union members decided to protest because they suspected corruption and fraud at UCT and were concerned about how the university applied its disciplinary procedures.
“The senior manager is eventually facing disciplinary action after numerous calls that Nehawu has made after suspicion of corruption and fraud by this person and abusing UCT resources. However, we have not been able to prove it,” Bevie said.
She said while an inquiry into the conduct of the staff member had taken place and the staff member was facing disciplinary action, the union was being kept in the dark.
“We heard that the person is still around and still uses the resources of the university. The staff member is still allowed to come onto the premises of UCT, and is even attending meetings as usual,” Bevie said.
“We came out in numbers to point out that this is unacceptable. This is our institution,” she said.
Branch secretary of Nehawu, Smartdryck Abrahams, said the union found the lack of communication by UCT management unacceptable. He claimed that in similar cases involving Nehawu members, staff members had been disciplined before they had been found guilty.
“They really treat black people as if they are criminals but this time the manager is white. Whites in this institution are protected, while black senior managers are not,” said Abrahams.
Mandla Simelela, a worker at the sports centre who attended the protest, said he had been working at the university for 31 years but his salary had not changed much over the years.
“They don’t want to upgrade us as we are not white. We want a black boss now… we are tired of white people who (commit) corruption, which is swept under the mat,” Simelela said.
UCT spokeswoman Pat Lucas said the university noted the protest organised by the members of Nehawu.
“Nehawu’s protest is about an internal disciplinary matter involving a staff member,” Lucas said. “These hearings and their outcomes are confidential,” she said.