Nehawu and Sasco close Unisa

The SA Students Congress (Sasco) and the National Health Education and Allied Workers Union (Nehawu) have joined forces to shut down the University of South Africa.

Yesterday, they forced potential students to abandon their applications and registrations at the university’s Sunnyside campus in Pretoria.

Nehawu has deadlocked with Unisa management on the union’s demand for a 12% wage increase‚ with the university management offering 6.5%.

Sasco is demanding‚ among other things‚ the scrapping of students’ historic debt and the abolishment of application and registration fees.

Nehawu’s national organiser‚ Ntsako Nombelane‚ said they had shut down all campuses, and they would remain shut until their demands were met.

He said they were willing to settle for 9% if the university negotiated in good faith‚ but management refused to budge from their 6.5% offer.

“Our compromise was rejected by the university in August last year already but this time we are not backing down. The campuses will remain shut until our demands are met‚” Nombelane said.

He said their members ranged from academic staff down to the cleaners and gardeners‚ saying the lowest-paid worker at the university earned about R6 500.

Nombelane said what the university was offering would make no difference in the lives of their members as this was below the consumer price index.

Sasco’s Unisa branch secretary‚ Sphiwe Morema‚ said it was pointless for students to continue applying when there were critical issues that needed to be addressed first.

“Potential students have to fork out money to apply and register but they are the poorest of the poor.

“NSFAS [National Student Financial Aid Scheme] was supposed to have confirmed applications by now but no student has received confirmation from the scheme.

“This is a tactic to exclude students‚” he said.

Morema said safety was also a major concern at the university’s campuses.