WSU pay deadlock comes to end

Staff say they feel betrayed by the university’s management

AS 21 000 Walter Sisulu University (WSU) students brace themselves for a return to classes after seven weeks of no learning, staff felt betrayed by university management.

The prolonged strike action, which had shut the university down as labour and management locked horns in wage negotiations, finally came to an end yesterday.

An agreement for a 5% wage increase has been accepted and is expected to be signed on Monday. The exact details of WSU’s offer will only be disclosed next week.

However, some staff members have expressed unhappiness with how the wage dispute was handled by university management.

Sylvia Nkanyuza, a lecturer at the Mthatha campus, said: “There is a breakdown of trust because some employees wanted to return to work, but no work, no pay was implemented to all workers. In addition, what the management [earlier] offered was even lower than what is contained in the university’s remuneration policy, which states a minimum of 5% should be the starting point.”

She said it was still unclear how staff would partake in any catch-up plans.

Nkanyuza said a resolution to the strike had taken too long. She was among employees who could not settle their accounts because their salaries had been docked.

Student Zizipho Mazwi, 19, from Flagstaff said she was still raising funds to return to the Butterworth campus. She had to leave when students were ordered to vacate residences.

Mazwi wants to be a fashion designer and is among the thousands of students coming from poor households.

“I’m excited and I’m ready to study. I’m busy trying to get funds to go back to school.”

WSU spokeswoman Angela Church disputed claims the university had a remuneration policy ensuring a 5% minimum salary increase.

“That is just a maximum notch salary increase for employees in a lower scale of a certain grade, not for employees across the board.”

Church would not be drawn into commenting on the details of the catch-up plan, or on when students were expected to return to class. But she confirmed parties were still discussing the content of the agreement. — msindisif@