Daily News reports that management at the Durban University of Technology (DUT) said on Thursday they were only prepared to meet disgruntled strikers if unions agreed to a formal sit-down with a mediator.  

With classes starting on Monday, there appears to be no end in sight to the ongoing industrial action at the institution.  According to Wiseman Madinane, DUT council chairperson, the unions were not budging from their 10% salary increase demands.  He went on to say:  “We now have a stalemate.  We are of the view that the negotiations between the unions and management are somewhat toxic.  There are peripheral issues at play.  We do not believe that (given) the way these negotiations are being handled, that it would yield any result.  We have revised the mandate for management to engage with unions, but that mandate is on condition that future negotiations take place under professional, skilled mediation.”  Earlier this month members of the National Education Health and Allied Workers’ Union (Nehawu), the Tertiary Education National Union of SA (Tenusa) and the National Tertiary Education Union (NTEU) embarked on protest action.  Nehawu’s Milton Estrice disputed management’s claims that they were refusing to negotiate.

• Read this report by Se-Anne Rall in full at Daily News

Read too, Acceding to salary demands would compromise teaching and learning, says DUT management, at TimesLive

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