Striking UFH staff to take fight to court
While University of Fort Hare’s vice-chancellor professor Sakhela Buhlungu has called on all staff and students to return for the start of the second semester today, striking staff members say they will not be returning.
Instead they are now taking their fight to court.
About 500 non-academic and academic staff who are affiliated to Nehawu, downed tools on June 12, demanding better pay and improved benefits.
The strike brought the university to a complete standstill and mid-year exams had to be postponed.
Last week, the East London High Court granted the university an interim court order interdicting workers from protest action at the institution.
The order granted by high court judge Belinda Hartle restricts the striking workers from:
Assaulting, intimidating and instigating others to assault non-striking staff;
Coming within 100m of the university’s premises during the strike;
Interfering with or preventing any student from attending classes and disrupting classes; and
Damaging university prop- erty and instigating any other person to damage university property.
Speaking to the Dispatch yesterday, Nehawu shop steward Prince Dabula said they were heading to court to challenge the interim court order granted by the high court.
“We are not going back tomorrow [Monday]. The VC is contradicting himself – first he gets the court to keep us 100m away, and now he wants us back at the institution.
“We will challenge the court order so we can continue with our strike, not 100m away but inside the campus,” said Dabula.
On Friday, four days after the court order was granted, Buhlungu said many staffers were eager to go back to work.
“We are aware that employees of the university, including those who went on strike on June 12, are anxious to return to work as soon as possible.
“I wish to assure them and the rest of the university community that the management bargaining team is ready to meet with representatives of Nehawu to conclude the negotiations without further delay,” said Buhlungu.
However, Dabula said they would not return before taking their fight to court.
“As things currently stand, he [Buhlungu] will have to meet us 100m away from the institution for negotiations,” said Dabula.