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The National Education, Health and Allied Workers' Union [NEHAWU] has ended its strike at Vaal University of Technology this afternoon. An agreement was reached by the national union and the employer after marathon negotiations which ended last night.
 
Our members were consulted on the draft settlement that was agreed upon by our negotiation team and the employer. After intensive consultation our members accepted the proposed settlement and the agreement was subsequently signed this afternoon. After intense and protracted negotiations we agreed on the following:
 
·       7.5 % salary increase across the board backdated to April 2019
·       Equalization of pay on same value of work
·       Implementation of signed insourcing agreement of 2016
·       Non implementation of 5 days no work no pay in exchange of R5000 once off which the institution could not afford
·       Conversion of qualifying contracts into permanent in line with LRA s198B.
·       Caseation of hostility by withdrawing charges laid against our members
 
The unity demonstrated by VUT workers should teach all other universities a lesson that when workers are united nothing can defeat them. Arising from this strike, it is important for all universities to recognise and acknowledge the fact that workers constitute an integral part of the critical component at the point of production [service] hence they must be treated with dignity and respect they deserve.  
 
The 5 day long strike by our members should have long been avoided had the university came to the negotiations table with progressive openness and care for its human capital than being fixated on one position of a zero percent salary increase. As NEHAWU, we also hope that the assessor that has been appointed by the Minister of higher Education and Training will expedite his work and uncover elements of ongoing corruption and save our university.

 
Issued by NEHAWU