Rhodes support staff strike ends

Another strike has come to an end, as Rhodes support staff returned to work on Wednesday.

Another strike has come to an end, as Rhodes support staff returned to work on Wednesday.

An agreement between Rhodes University administration and leaders from the National Education Health And Workers Union (Nehawu) was reached late on Tuesday, 11 August, putting an end to the dispute that has been raging between the two parties since May this year.

The dispute began when Rhodes University proposed spending R9-million in 2009 and R1-million in 2010 to bring all wages and salaries closer to the average that support staff workers receive at other universities.

However, Nehawu felt that the allocation of money favoured the higher grades of staff and ignored the lower grades of support staff.

Between May and July, negotiations between the two parties were ongoing. However, the dispute escalated after a memorandum proposed by Nehawu was rejected by the university council. The council felt that the memorandum unfairly favoured the lower grades of staff and that there were no clear goals or principles for the extra money that was being demanded.

Although the strike began peaceful, on Thursday 6 August the protesters began damaging property, disrupting lectures and intimidating individuals, particularly the workers at the library construction site.

The university had hoped that the strike would last less than a week but negotiations did not prove successful until  the following Tuesday, when several hours were spent discussing an agreement that would be beneficial to both parties.

Judith Ngoqo, the deputy chairperson of Nehawu for the region confirmed that an agreement had been reached and that it included issues such as the upgrading of salaries and conditions of leave.