#OutsourcingMustFall protest at TUT
Police have been deployed to the Tshwane University of Technology's (TUT) Pretoria campus amid a strike by security personnel.
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TUT spokesperson Willa de Ruyter says a group of striking workers barricaded the gates to the Pretoria campus in a protest over outsourcing.
She says TUT has already started insourcing some of the workers.
"Certain groups of staff members have already been insourced as per the agreement with the outsourced workers as was approved by the TUT Council," says De Ruyter.
De Ruyter says there is a group of workers due to be insourced in July this year.
"The decision on what groups of workers will be insourced and the numbers are dependent on the financial sustainability," says De Ruyter.
De Ruyter says they are engaging with the workers.
"Activities at the Pretoria campus have been suspended for the day and a notice will be issued to the TUT community through the course of the day on the way forward," De Ruyter.
The #OutsourcingMustFall movement's Mametlwe Sebei says TUT's insourcing of landscaping workers below the agreed minimum wage has led to serious discontent amongst workers.
Sebei says workers decided to embark on the action after debating TUT's latest correspondence during a mass meeting on Saturday.
"After refusing since February 2016, when an agreement was signed between management and the representatives of outsourced workers, TUT has (provisionally) committed to convene an Insourcing Task Team to include workers in the process of insourcing," says Sebei.
Sebei says this has come too late for workers.
"There was anger that TUT had not made a full commitment to Friday's meeting which remained provisional. Further, workers do not want to enter talks with a gun to their head - they are demanding that TUT withdraws the new security tenders. Then and only then will workers be willing to participate."