Unisa workers vow to continue strike over outsourcing
More than two thousand striking workers from Unisa, the University of Pretoria, Tshwane University of Technology, Tshwane North College, Tshwane South College, Medunsa and Tshwane Municipality have vowed to continue the #Outsourcingmustfall campaign until their demands are met.
The workers submitted a memorandum of demands to university management last year November demanding immediate permanent employment, a minimum wage of R10,000 including full benefits and permanent employment of all recently retrenched workers.
Some of the workers claim to earn as little as R2,500 a month.
#Outsourcingmustfall spokesman Mametlwe Sebei said workers have proposed to all university and college management teams and to the municipality to make available a venue where negotiations can be held.
“We are planning a meeting on Thursday with our workers but we are awaiting a full response from varsity management to give us a room to meet. So far we met with the management from the University of Pretoria… they have made a commitment to house us for our meeting. However, further details will follow if we hold a meeting tomorrow,” said Sebei.
In a statement, #Outsourcingmustfall said the first mass meeting was initiated by the Workers and Socialist Party (WASP), whose predecessor, the Democratic Socialist Movement, helped found the independent mine workers’ strike committees that led the post-Marikana massacre strike wave in 2012.
Wednesday was the third day of the strike in Tshwane.