Uncategorized
By Johnathan Paoli
The South African Democratic Teachers’ Union (SADTU) in the North West has warned that it could mobilise its members for collective action if ongoing engagements with the provincial education department fail to resolve a range of longstanding labour and education challenges affecting schools and employees.
In a statement issued on Saturday, the union cautioned that it would not hesitate to escalate the matter should negotiations fail to produce meaningful progress.
“Should these engagements fail to produce satisfactory outcomes, the union reserves the right to mobilise its members and pursue all possible avenues and collective actions necessary to defend the interests of educators and learners,” the union said.
In its first meeting since the recent provincial conference, the union’s Provincial Executive Committee (PEC) expressed serious concern over persistent challenges facing educators, education support staff, and the broader schooling sector, saying many issues have remained unresolved despite previous engagements with the department.
Among the union’s concerns are delays in the processing and payment of pension benefits for qualifying employees, the continued non-payment of acting allowances, deteriorating infrastructure at departmental offices and educational institutions, and the failure to fill critical vacancies for school support staff.
The union highlighted delays in converting temporary educators into permanent employees, which it described as the incorrect implementation of Collective Agreement 4 of 2016, challenges arising from post-provisioning norms, and broader labour relations and human resource problems that continue to undermine service delivery and staff morale.
According to SADTU, these issues have persisted for too long and require urgent intervention from the provincial education authorities.
“The PEC also undertook a comprehensive assessment of the state of education in the province and expressed serious concern over several persistent challenges confronting employees and the broader education sector,” the statement said.
The union said it was particularly disappointed by what it described as the slow pace at which the Department of Education has been responding to these matters.
“The PEC noted with concern the slow pace at which the Department of Education is responding to and resolving these longstanding matters. While engagements have taken place on some of these issues, progress remains unsatisfactory and continues to disadvantage workers and undermine the effective functioning of schools and offices.”
SADTU said the continued delays have had a direct impact on employees while also affecting the quality of education delivery across the province.
In response, the PEC resolved to intensify its efforts to ensure that the department addresses the outstanding issues through established labour and bargaining mechanisms.
“SADTU will utilise all available and relevant engagement platforms, including bilateral meetings, collective bargaining structures, and other established forums, to push for concrete interventions and lasting solutions,” the union said.
While the union emphasised that it remains committed to maintaining constructive relations with the employer, it stressed that dialogue must produce measurable outcomes for workers.
The PEC called for unity within the organisation following the Provincial Conference, urging all structures and members to remain actively involved in implementing the conference’s resolutions.
The resolutions adopted at the provincial conference are expected to guide the work of SADTU North West in the coming term, with the union indicating that addressing workplace grievances and improving conditions in schools will remain among its highest priorities as it continues engagements with the department.
The post SADTU North West warns of possible mobilisation over unresolved education challenges appeared first on Inside Education..
