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Tuesday May 17, 2022

The National Education, Health and Allied Workers’ Union [NEHAWU] is at an advance stage in its preparations for the upcoming indefinite full-blown strike at the South African Revenue Services [SARS] planned to start on Wednesday May 25, 2022.

The strike comes as a result of the deadlock in wage negotiations that has been ongoing since January 2022 when tabling our demands to SARS. The union declared a dispute after it was clear that the employer was not responding to our wage demands, instead was unwavering that the institution does not have money due to National Treasury’s austerity measures.

The union declared a dispute in terms of Clause (9.2) of the Constitution of the SARS National Bargaining Forum which direct parties to try and resolve the dispute within 5 days, however the dispute remain unresolved as the employer continued with non-response to our core demands but only proposing to establish some task team which we rejected.

Subsequently, we referred the dispute to the Commission for Conciliation, Mediation and Arbitration [CCMA] and conciliation was set down for the 31st March 2022, wherein the employer formally submitted a zero percent increase, even though they had confirmed receiving the allocated budget which they sought from National Treasury. After vigorous engagements, unfortunately we did not agree, thereby a deadlock was reached and a certificate was issued.

On receipt of the certificate, the national union convened membership meetings in all workplaces of SARS for a mandate on the way forward. Followed by the national bargaining forum attended by provinces on the 10th May 2022 where detailed and comprehensive reports were received, robustly discussed liberations culminating into the unanimously decision to go for a full-blown strike.

At this stage, we are happy and confident on the state of readiness for the full-blown strike to kick start on the 25th May 2022, where our members shall demonstrate their power and send a clear message that no employer must take workers for granted hence the fight to defend our hard-won gains. As part of build-up programme, the union will conduct pickets during lunch-times on the 23rd and 24th May 2022 and organise marches in Western Cape to SARS P16 Offices and in Gauteng to the SARS Head Office and National Treasury on the 25th May 2022.

Our substantive demands placed before SARS include amongst others the following:

Salaries be adjusted using October 2021 CPI of 5% + 7%, across the board for employees within the Bargaining Unit.

A Single Term implementation on 1st April 2022

On Medical Aid and Housing Allowance, full and equal medical aid and housing allowance for all employees. It has been established that not all employees receive the same allowance.

An introduction of Pandemic leave – Demand 10 working days per annum.

A R2000 gift (token of appreciation) to members also to include 60 - 65 years of age.

Pay Progression - An annual adjustment upwards on the applicable pay band of 1.5% where the employee has met the required performance standard.

Indeed, over the years, NEHAWU has been in the forefront in championing and registering hard-won gains for its members and workers at SARS, and this blunt refusal to pay workers constitute an integral part of the broader agenda of attacking collective bargaining and reversing the hard-won gains of workers. This SARS posture of offering a zero percentage salary increase amidst the dire-economic situation faced by our members and workers in general represent this attack.

As it comes against the background that SARS has reneging to the implementation of the last leg of the 2019 wage agreement, instead of paying workers the agreed last leg of 6.2 %, SARS paid a portion of 3.9%.

The union strongly believes that the employer can meet our demands as SARS managed to collect R1.56 trillion in tax revenue for the 2021/22 financial year representing a 25% year-on-year increase on the R1.25-trillion collected in the 2020/21 financial year.

Surely without workers, SARS would not have made such revenue collection if it was not through the hard-work of our members and workers. Yet, the institution does not value nor appreciate the efforts made by these workers in making SARS a functioning institution, instead it spits on their faces by offering them a zero percent increase.

As NEHAWU, we shall do everything in our power to fight for these reasonable and achievable demands and rights of our members and workers at SARS.

Equally, the national union takes this opportunity to update the public on the current impasse unfolding at UNISA following the decision of the Vice-Chancellor and Management to terminate unlawfully the employment contract of our office bearers.

As NEHAWU, we have previously communicated that the termination of the employment contracts of our office bearers was predetermined from the onset when letters of precautionary suspension and intention to institute disciplinary action were issued because the VC did not follow the legal requirement in terms of Schedule 8 of the Labour Relations Act 66 of 1995 as amended which states that “Discipline against a trade union representative or an employee who is an office bearer of a trade union shouldn’t be instituted without first informing and consulting the union” .

The action of the VC demonstrates a total disregard for labour laws thereby bringing the institution into the current impasse. Indeed, we have observed that under the leadership of the current VC, there have been collapse of administration and management, corruption, maladministration and complete disregard for collective bargaining and disregard for labour laws in the institution. This has brought instability with her high-handed management of the university.

The genesis of the crisis at UNISA started when the VC undermined the collective bargaining in 2021 by awarding a handful of staff members’ salary increments outside the UNISA Bargaining Forum (UBF), which is the only forum that deals with conditions of services and matters of mutual interest as a result the union had to embark on lunch-hour demonstrations against her action.

The VC went further to undermine the recruitment and selection processes of the institution by appointing five (5) people in her office without any advertisement and selection processes. All the staff appointed irregularly in her office earn above R1 million salary notches.

As NEHAWU, we have on numerous occasions raised issues of mismanagement and maladministration in the institution. As recently, the university council appointed a law firm to investigate irregular procurement of laptops valued at R55 million without following procurement processes. We now know as a matter of fact that the council is processing the recommendation of the forensic report which calls for a disciplinary action to be taken against the VC.

In this regard, we have already written a letter to the council requesting for an urgent meeting in order to resolve the impasse as numerous attempts were made by the union to meet the management to no avail except receiving promises to meet with us over three weeks now. Amongst the issues to raise with the council, is the fast tracking of the disciplinary action against the VC and her on suspension to give space to the disciplinary processes as we are more convinced that her action to terminate contract of our office bearers is not only vindictive but constitute her strategy to weaken the case against her by eliminate those potentially would provide evidence and willing to be witnesses against her such as our office bearers. Simply put, the VC is interfering with all potential elements of her case so to ensure that by the time of the disciplinary processes there would not anyone to testify against her.

Unfortunately, the national union shall not fold its arms and watch the VC and UNISA management running the institution as a Banana University or as their Spaza shop. Already, we had sought legal advice from our lawyers and currently in the process of filing court papers today, the 17th May 2022 to declare such actions unlawful and ought to be set aside by a court of law, while busy at the national level consolidating a program to intensify the mobilisation on the ground. We, therefore call the UNISA Council to provide leadership to ensure stability in the institution and that the impasse is amicably resolved to enable the smooth running of the academic and support institutional programmes.

Failing which, the union shall take the situation of UNISA straight to the door of the Minister of Higher Education and Training, Science and Technology for solution and action.

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Friday May 13, 2022

The National Education, Health and Allied Workers’ Union [NEHAWU] has served the South African Revenue Services [SARS] with a notice for a strike action in line with section 64 (1) (d) of the Labour Relations Act No 66 of 1995 as amended.

This comes after having reached a deadlock to conclude a wage agreement for the bargaining circle of 2022/2023 after the intransigent employer tabled a zero percent offer or an offer far below what we have presented as our demand.

The media is invited to a press conference on the upcoming nationwide full-blown strike at the South African Revenue Services [SARS]. NEHAWU will brief the media and the public on the state of readiness and details of the strike.

Details of the press conference:

Date: Tuesday May 17, 2022 Time: 14:00 Venue: Thaba Eco Hotel, Klipriviersberg Nature Reserve, Impala Rd, Kibler Park, Johannesburg

Members of the media are invited to attend and to cover the press conference.

Media houses and journalists interested in covering the press conference please RSVP with NEHAWU National Spokesperson, Cde Lwazi Nkolonzi, at 081 558 2335 or email lwazin@nehawu.org.za