Union votes for action after Rhodes impasse

NATIONAL Tertiary Education Union (NTEU) members at Rhodes University have voted overwhelmingly in favour of industrial action against the university after it refused to budge on its 5% wage increase offer to support staff.

NTEU and the National Health, Education and Allied Workers Union (Nehawu) will now move forward together on planning the forms of industrial action they will pursue NTEU general secretary Grant Abbott said.

It will, at least for now, not take the form of a strike.

NTEU has emphasised that the industrial action will be responsible and incremental.

According to a circular to members, the industrial action will only kick off after the April university vacation.

The union said in its circular that they took no delight in having to resort to industrial action and it remained committed to a negotiated settlement if management came forward to resolve the impasse.

“We acknowledge the financial difficulties of the university, but we also need to remain sensitive to the financial burdens placed on workers in a deteriorating financial climate.

“A below-par wage offer is effectively using worker wages to bail the university out of its financial crisis.

Rhodes vice-chancellor Dr Sizwe Mabizela last week warned the unions that even the 5% offer would cost the university an extra R20-million which it could barely afford.

The unions have dropped their initial increase demand from 8% to 7.5% on their salary basket.