Unisa Resolves Labour Disputes With Union
In todays latest UNISA News– The University of South Africa (Unisa ) held its first physical graduation ceremony since Covid-19 plagued South Africa in 2020. Unfortunately, the institution’s graduation ceremony was interrupted and roads had been closed due to tyres that were lit near one of the Unisa campuses.
While most protests at the university are associated with students, this time around, employees of the institution are at the forefront of the protests.
The National Education, Health, and Allied Workers’ Union (Nehawu) led the most recent protests at the university, which were mainly about wage disputes and general working conditions in the institution.
This incident also impacted students’ results being released at a later stage than intended.
Nehawu Unisa branch secretary Tshembani Valoyi had said that the protest actions will continue until they receive feedback.
The union added that it has been trying to deal with these issues for almost six months.
Unisa Principal and Vice-Chancellor, Professor Puleng LenkaBula announced that the main issue between her institution and the union has been successfully resolved by the appropriate authority, the Council of Unisa.
The university assured its students and stakeholders in a statement:
The resolution of this dispute means that the university will immediately return to operational and academic stability.
LenkaBula has expressed gratitude for stakeholders who were involved in the negotiation process.
The university’s management has given Human Resources a directive to conduct research and benchmark study regarding salaries for Academics, Administrative and Professional staff due to the nature of the problem.
Unisa has confirmed that this department did not followed due process regarding the resolutions on the salary adjustments but opted for shortcuts, exposing Unisa to operational and strategic risks.
However, Unisa has apologised to all its internal and external stakeholders for the inconvenience caused by the dispute.
The university further stated that those who have violated university policies and the laws of the land will face consequences.
