The Western Cape Education Department has clapped back at points made during a press conference held by the SA Democratic Teachers Union (SADTU), saying they hope that the union will join the fight to save teaching jobs by turning their attention to the real culprits - National Treasury.
SADTU announced on Tuesday that it had declared a dispute at the education bargaining council, calling the WCED’s consultation with unions over the job cuts “meaningless and insufficient”.
Sadtu claimed the department contributed towards the cuts by not making contract teachers permanent and was also not considering proposals made to save jobs.
While the WCED noted the dispute, it said it still hoped that the union would join the fight for teachers by urging the National Treasury to fully fund the wage agreement.
The WCED also stated that it had in fact sped up the process to convert contract teacher appointments into permanent posts, and has confirmed the conversion of 5 000 such contracts between January and August 2024.
“A further 443 contract appointments are currently being converted to permanent,” WCED spokesperson Bronagh Hammond says.
The WCED says it was forced to reduce teacher posts as a result of a decision by government to not fully fund the 2023 nationally negotiated public sector wage agreement.
However, National Treasury explained that the percentage split of any provincial education budget including the Western Cape has nothing to do with wage negotiations but rather with how the department is structured.
“Wage negotiations for 2025/26 will only commence in September 2024.”
It said that all sectors were impacted by fiscal consolidation budget adjustments and are required to absorb these changes within their existing baselines.
“The education sector’s budget for the years 2024/25, 2025/26, and 2026/27 is R316.5 billion, R328.8 billion, and R343.6 billion, respectively.
“The fiscal consolidation measures that typically involve reducing baseline budgets were offset by additional allocations aimed at addressing shortfalls in compensation of employees.
“The adjustments in the education sector's budget result in baseline additions of R9.6 billion in 2024/25 and R9.2 billion in 2025/26.”
The Education Labour Relations Council (ELRC) confirmed they received the dispute submitted by SADTU, adding that the matter will now be set down for conciliation and arbitration.