Shutdown at Unisa in PE
Hundreds of students stranded by national strike over wages
UNIVERSITY of SA (Unisa) campuses were shut down across the country yesterday, with hundreds of students turned away from the institution’s Greyville House in Port Elizabeth.
Striking National Education Health and Allied Workers’ Union (Nehawu) workers forced the countrywide closure over a wage dispute.
Students who arrived at the Greenacres campus were greeted by a notice plastered at the entrance to the building that said: “Please be advised that due to protests taking place nationally, there will be no service available until further notice. We apologise for the inconvenience caused.”
Unisa spokesman Martin Ramotshela said staff had embarked on an indefinite strike yesterday – a day before the close of registration.
Ramotshela said a meeting between the university’s executive and staff representatives was under way.
“The university will take a responsible decision to accommodate the students affected by the action,” he said.
The closure did not go down well with Port Elizabeth students.
Johann Oosthuizen, 36, a third-year BA social science student, said the strike was an unnecessary frustration.
“The staff are joking and laughing inside. They should have at least had the courtesy of having somebody explain to us what is happening,” he said. Jamie-Lee Swartz, 19, who came to register for the first time, said she was concerned as the closing date for the education course she intended to enrol in was today.
“Where does that leave me? I am very concerned. I have no idea what to do next,” she said.
Nehawu spokesman Sello Bila said the university would not function until its demand for a 10% salary increase was met and a commitment from university management to deal with wastage and corruption at the institution was given.
He said the union and management had deadlocked when management reduced its initial offer of a 6% increase to 4.5%.
Bila said the institution was also grappling with wastage‚ saying management had spent R100-million on an IT system for student registration this year but it was not working.
“The university also rents buildings‚ though it has buildings of its own‚” he said.
‘ Where does it leave me? I am very concerned. I have no idea what to do