Nehawu say they had students' interests at heart, after students at the Eastcape Midlands College expressed fear that a strike would scupper their academic year.
Nehawu say they had students' interests at heart, after students at the Eastcape Midlands College expressed fear that a strike would scupper their academic year.
The Eastcape Midlands College has extended its application and registration date to 17 February following strikes by the National Education, Health and Allied Workers Union and the subsequent dismissal of 60 Nehawu members
More than 60 workers belonging to the National Education Health and Allied Workers’ Union were fired by the College, after a two-week-long strike forced the institution to close during its crucial registration period.
According to a statement from the College this week, the staff members dismissed include educator and support staff across eight campuses and the College's head office.
Registration was due to begin on 5 January and end two weeks later.
Only 40% of the students had managed to register when the College closed.
SRC members cite last year's lower pass-rate in expressing concern about the disruption on College campuses this year. At the Grahamstown campus, 2014 was marked by frequent disruptions, as students protested about fees, results and exclusions. According to the SRC, the pass rate dropped from the previous year by 10%.
In a statement to Grocott's Mail the College's spokesperson Lize Hayward said the employees were dismissed after the strikers ignored three ultimatums to return to work, breached a court interdict issued to protect staff, students and property and failed to attend a disciplinary hearing.
The institution, which has campuses in Grahamstown, Uitenhage and Graaff-Reinet, was brought to its knees by the strike that began on 13 January.
Hayward said the industrial action was marked by the intimidation of staff, students, potential students and parents.
"The severity of the actions taken by Nehawu escalated to the degree that college management was left with no option but to close the college for an indefinite period," Hayward said.
On Friday 30 January, Nehawu marched to the Cuyler Campus Head Office in Uitenhage to hand over a memorandum of grievances. According to Hayward, the memorandum was received and signed by an official from the Department of Higher Education and Training's regional office.
The College disputed the grievances and demands cited in the memorandum, Hayward said.
Hayward said Nehawu members had failed to attend a disciplinary hearing on Tuesday 27 January 2015 and were subsequently dismissed in absentia.
"The letters of dismissal are being delivered by courier services."
Hayward said a disciplinary hearing for all shop stewards would take place on Tuesday 3 February.
Danie Kilian, the College's Vice-principal of Registration, said the management is confident they have taken all possible steps to restore normality.
“As we are committed to quality teaching, learning and assessment in a safe environment, management has put various plans in place to ensure positive progress,” Kilian said.
The Student Representative Council at EMC has raised concern about the protracted strike. In an emailed statement to Grocott's Mail dated 28 January, Education and Transformation officer Zikisa Mbanga said the strike will have a negative impact on examinations.
"We feel that this strike is setting our fellow students for failure. In 2013 the college achieved 73% pass rate and in 2014 it dropped to 66% and it was because of the unrest. We fear that this will immensely drop," Mbanga said.
Mbanga said the SRC strongly feels that the College management and Nehawu should reach an agreement so classes can proceed.
"We as the Student Leadership are very perturbed by an outcry from the students on all four corners of the institution," Mbanga said.
"Students are uncertain of their future at the College because the majority of the students are not yet registered.
"The future of the students for 2015 at EMC gets dimmer. When elephants fight, the grass suffers."
SRC Chairperson at the Grahamstown campus Akhona Buwa confirmed that registration had been cancelled due to the strike. "Registration started on 5 January and according to the schedule it was going to end in the third week of January," Buwa said.
According to Buwa, the Grahamstown campus takes 1 200 students annually.
The three regional Eastcape Midlands College campuses take a combined 10 000 students.
In a statement from the College on Tuesday 3 February, Hayward said all campuses are currently open from 7.45am to 4pm for the application and registration of prospective and current students.
"The process is running smoothly and the call centre is handling large volumes of enquiries," Hayward said. "A large influx of applicants is still expected, especially since the application and registration date has been extended until 17 February 2015. Academic interventions are in place to compensate for lost time."
Hayward said the college had obtained additional administration staff from the National Student Financial Aid Scheme to accelerate the bursary administration process.
"This will speed up financial assistance to students," Hayward said. *********************************************************************************************************************************************Nehawu speaks out
Speaking to Grocott's Mail on Thursday 5 February, Nehawu deputy chairperson at Eastcape Midlands College, Khayalethu Magopeni, said the union had the best interest of the students at heart.
"We hope this will be resolved soon for the sake of our students and community," Magopeni said.
Explaining the reasons for embarking in an unoprotected strike Magopeni said salaries at EMC were ridiculously low compared to those at other FET Colleges. Magopeni said the Department of Higher Education and Training had failed to deliver on many promises they made to the Union.
In the petition from Nehawu to the Department the following issues were included:
• Non- implementation of the Employment Equity Plan
• Disparity in Salaries
• Lack of job security
• Disbandment of the Business Unit
• Transparency in the NSFAS bursary allocations
• Eastcape Midlands College’s responsibility in developing the community where the institution operates.
