A teacher’s union has threatened strike action over the Western Cape Education Department’s decision to cut 2 400 teacher posts this year.
The South African Democratic Teachers’ Union (SADTU) says talks with the WCED over the pending job cuts were “meaningless and insufficient” and says it’s for this reason that it has declared a dispute at the education bargaining council.
The WCED last week announced that it would be reducing teaching posts by not reappointing some contract teachers after their contracts end on December 31 due a budget shortfall of R3.8 billion over the next three years.
However SADTU says the WCED has not done enough to save much needed teaching jobs.
SADTU provincial secretary, Sibongile Kwazi, says: “We believe that there was insufficient consultation, that our proposals were not considered, and that teachers and learners were not considered.
“Now we have the department saying they are not retrenching but what do you call it when people who are employed lose their jobs?”
Kwazi says they proposed the termination of the Back on Track programme and cutting down on the annual systemic evaluations, but did not receive a fruitful response.
“This is why we lodged an urgent dispute which we hope will be resolved by the end of the schooling term in September.
“We are calling on the department to recall the basket they proposed and also reopen consultation.”
COSATU provincial secretary Malvern de Bruyn says they stand with SADTU and will be calling a joint meeting with religious institutions, schooling and sport fraternities, unions and the community at large.
He says the poor will be worst affected but Cosatu was “ready to go to the streets.”
Provincial Head for the Educators and Allied Workers Union of South Africa (EUSA) André de Bruyn, said while they and the National Teachers’ Union (NATU) supports the call to reopen consultations, they believe the root of the problem lies with the national Department of Basic Education (DBE).
“SADTU should be calling out the DBE to withdraw the cutting of posts and ask them to come to the table. KZN is losing about 11 000 posts, as is Limpopo.
“This is a national crisis with far reaching effects.”