Deputy Minister for Higher Education and Training, Buti Manamela, will next week meet with all parties involved in the ongoing labour disputes at the Durban University of Technology (DUT).
The meeting, which will to be held on Tuesday, follows a request from all the parties involved in the dispute, including FEDUSA (Federation of Unions of South Africa), NEHAWU (National Education, Health and Allied Workers' Union) and the management of Durban University of Technology.
Deputy Minister Manamela said that he has finally agreed with the management and the leadership of the unions on the need for the department to help the parties to come to a conclusion on the wage disputes, which have taken a toll on students and their academic time.
“Both the university council and the unions have committed to be back on the table and talk,” said Deputy Minister Manamela.
This will be the second time that Deputy Minister will be visiting the institution. Last month, he facilitated that the parties get back to negotiations, which eventually collapsed.
The Deputy Minister said that the department understands the frustrations of stakeholders who called them to intervene, but “we could only do so if all the parties agreed to our intervention since this is a Labour disputed.
“Valuable tuition time has already been lost, not to say anything of the adverse effects that strike action has on workers and their families. It is therefore in the best interest of all involved that the dispute is resolved without further delay,” Deputy Minister Manamela said. – SAnews.gov.za
