On Thursday, conciliation talks between members of the University of Cape Town Employees Union and management came to a standstill.
According to the union, it is the biggest representative body at the institution, with over 1,200 members. Administrative employees, technical officers, managers, and executive directors are all represented by the union, which covers a broad variety of earners (payment classes 2 to 13). It is, in fact, the union for non-academic workers at the university who are in charge of administration, technical work, and management.
According to the union, management is refusing to negotiate on numerous salary-increase problems and is refusing to deal with the union. On Thursday, the case was heard by the Commission for Conciliation, Mediation, and Arbitration (CCMA).
The union has had to submit a case to the CCMA for the second time in two weeks.
The union highlighted its worries regarding management ending its bargaining recognition agreement on January 18 in a statement issued on January 23.
“This action by UCT, seeks to nullify the collective strength of staff to negotiate fair and reasonable pay increases and benefits,” the statement read.
According to the union’s Samuel Chetty, the university left them with no choice but to go to the CCMA after management refused to talk with them.
On Thursday, UCT said that it had “extensive engagements” with all unions last year on establishing a single bargaining unit for all Professional, Administrative Support & Service (PASS) staff rather than “multiple arrangements”, according to UCT spokesperson Elijah Moholola. He said that “this move does not in any way seek to bring to an end its long-standing relationship with [the union]”.
“The university has similarly given notice to terminate its existing recognition agreements, as it relates only to the bargaining reforms, to other recognised unions representing PASS staff and all organisational rights are still in force,” said Moholola.
In addition to the two cases filed with the CCMA this month, the union had other cases filed with the CCMA in 2022. This is “unprecedented” in the history of the union, according to Chetty.
“The issue is that management has frustrated every effort the Employees’ Union has made for proposals and thwarted every proposal for negotiation in … labour matters,” said Chetty.
One of its cases before the CCMA was successfully negotiated in September last year. Technical inspectors had asked for overtime pay and compensation for using their vehicles for work at the university. In a statement, the union said, “An agreement has been reached to ensure that Technical Inspectors are fairly remunerated and compensated for their time in service of the employer. The agreement is backdated to 1 June 2022.”
The CCMA found in favour of UCT in another issue involving salary increase talks. The institution promised a 5% raise to employees, but there was a disagreement over a one-time payment of R2,100.
Chetty also said that the union is dealing with a lack of advancement prospects for Professional, Administrative Support, and Service personnel, which is an ongoing issue. This is despite the fact that other professionals, such as academic staff and scientific officials, have received promotions this year, according to Chetty.
Meanwhile, members of the Academics’ Union at UCT are planning to go on strike in order to get a greater pay raise. In a statement, this union argued that UCT’s offer of 3% for 2023 was “insulting and derisory”.