Unisa reveals plan to end outsourcing strife

Unisa management announced five steps that are likely to see an end to the anti-outsourcing protests.

|||

Pretoria - Unisa management on Tuesday night announced five steps that are likely to see an end to the anti-outsourcing protests which have rocked the institution for more than a month.

The management announced that all workers dismissed by service providers will be absorbed by the institution, and that all workers will get study benefits with immediate effect.

Management also announced that the lower-paid workers of the service providers would be given priority in terms of the top-up which has been proposed by workers.

The university authorities also made a commitment that workers who had been charged for their uniform would be reimbursed. The university has also agreed that service provider workers will be allowed to join labour unions of their choice.

The announcement came as the fight to end outsourcing at the institution looked far from over after, the #OutsourcingMustFall Movement vowed to continue with its protests.

Meanwhile, protests are likely to continue at the Tshwane University of Technology (TUT) after talks between management and the movement collapsed last week.

The university was accused of acting in bad faith following the dismissal of 40 workers for taking part in protest action that lasted over six weeks.

“We are going to mobilise workers and intensify the protests,” said Austin Mofyoa of #OutsourcingMustFall.

“We are going to make sure that nobody is posted to where they don't belong. Part of the agreement we made with the university was that nobody would be victimised, but that has not happened. The strike will therefore not end until our demands are met.”

He warned the protest would not end at tertiary institutions.

“We are going to meet workers who work for the municipality, so that they too can see an end to outsourcing.”

The protest was, however, marred by violence when striking outsourced workers clashed with their colleagues, who had reported for work at TUT.

Four workers were allegedly attacked by striking guards while on duty in the control room.

They were hit with batons.

The two groups apparently fought until the campus protection services personnel defused the situation.

There were injuries in both camps.

TUT spokeswoman Willa de Ruyter said the campus protection services would identify the transgressors, as they broke the court order prohibiting anyone from staging a protest on the campus.

She said workers were dismissed by the security services company that employed them before the agreement on insourcing was signed. “The agreement made it very clear that its implementation was dependent on affordability and sustainability. Insourcing is not an overnight thing,” De Ruyter said.

“We can ask the service providers, but we can’t force them,” she said, adding that the university was worried by the violence.

“Here is an offer on the table and unless we meet each other halfway, we are not going to afford it. We will engage the service provider to try to find a solution to all the problems.”

At Unisa, students and workers had given management an ultimatum to end outsourcing or face havoc on campus before last night’s announcement.

They disrupted the second day of the Research and Innovation Week conference at the Theo van Wyk Hall.

Pretoria News