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COSATU Free State welcomes the decision of SADTU to engage in a picketing at Motheo TVET College in protection of the rights of its members against the irrational management decisions and continued harassment by the head of Motheo TVET College.

Motheo TVET College has a very long history of administrative problems but during the tenure of the current principal the problems seems to have reached unprecedented proportional heights whereby she deliberately ignores and violates the collective agreements which regulates the employment relations in the workplace with impunity.

SADTU members were charged with an array of allegations, the disciplinary hearings took place in line with the policies and SADTU members were cleared on any wrongdoing, the principal has however due to reasons best known to her is refusing the employees to report back to work.

Motheo TVET as part of the ELRC has access to free services of the panel of Commissioners as presiding officers provided by this Bargaining Council to preside over disciplinary hearings; however private law firms are being utilized to provide the same services at deafening rates! This has no other definition except being fruitless expenditure!

When Department of Higher Education and Training (DHET) took over the TVET College the employees of the college were supposed to be paid out their provident funds, in a very strange way the TVET College has been able to get access to such funds and to this day the employees have not been paid their monies.

Affected members belong to SADTU (Lecturers) and NEHAWU (Support Staff).

We welcome the decision taken by SADTU to stage a picketing on September 03, 2015 at Motheo TVET Administration building starting at 10H00; we are impressed with the decision to take the picketing to the Administration premises away from the lecture halls and classes to allow learning and teaching to proceed without disturbance.

We further welcome the support shown by the SASCO and COSAS Province on the matter and encourage all our progressive forces to support SADTU in this legitimate action to protect the interest of its members against harassment and repression.

We are convinced that fair administrative practices in the institution would go a long way in improving quality learning and teaching.

Issued by COSATU Free State