NEHAWU PROTEST ACTION SUSPENDED

It was agreed at Nedlac today that the tertiary education sector will hold a sector summit in order to address issues raised by Nehawu (National Education Health and Allied Workers Union) regarding the restructuring of tertiary education institutions.

This was the third meeting held by Nedlac to consider Nihau's Section 77 notice of possible protest action. It was attended by representatives of Universities, Technikons, Nihau, the Department of Education, and members of Nedlac's management committee.

The agreement to hold a tertiary education summit staved off protest action by Nihau, which had previously announced that it would encourage its 250 000 membership to engage in protest action on the 28th of this month.

A small task team has been established to prepare for the summit. The task team's responsibilities include:

• Identifying additional agenda items for the summit
• Soliciting views from those tertiary education institutions which were unable to send representatives to the meeting
• Proposing a date for the summit

The first meeting of the task team will be convened by Nedlac. Ther eafter, the Council for Higher Education will take over responsibility for convening the summit, as this falls within the scope of their obligations in terms of the Higher Education Act, 1997.

The task team will report to a committee of principals which will finalise the agenda and date for the summit.

Agenda items for the summit that were agreed attoday's meeting include:

• Restructuring of the tertiary education system
• Contracting out of services
• Discussions on the possible establishment of a bargaining council for the sector

The notice served by Nihau was in terms ofs77(1)(b) of the Labour Relations Act, which gives workers the right to embark on protest action to promote and protect their social and economic interests, if they follow certain procedures. Nedlac is required to consider the notice with a view to resolving the matter through a process of facilitation.

The reasons tabled by NIHAWU as motivation for the intended protest action include:

• The failure by the State to compel the tertiary education institutions to comply with the Higher Education Act;
• The failure by the State to monitor the use of State subsidies in tertiary education institutions;
• The failure by the State to negotiate mechanisms to ensure the effective restructuring of the tertiary education sector.

"By providing a platform for parties to come together in a neutral environment to find joint solutions to their common problems, Nedlac is contributing to the entrenchment of social dialogue in South Africa," said WendyDobson, acting Executive Director of Nedlac.

Ends