BDFM News Online
Monday, December 11, 2006
THE South African Democratic Teachers' Union (Sadtu) had laid a formal dispute with the education department in the Education Labour Relations Council, the union said on Friday.
Sadtu has threatened industrial action at the start of the next school year if a solution to the dispute is not found.
The dispute was over salaries for those teachers eligible for accelerated re-grading due to good performance, said general secretary Thulas Nxesi.
"We don't want to start 2007 with all our energies focused on a labour dispute instead of dealing with the serious educational challenges we face," Nxesi said.
Sadtu and the National Professional Teachers' Association of SA (Naptosa) claim that the education department has not finalised the adjustment of salaries for teachers eligible for regrading and, with it, an average salary increase of about 3%. An agreement on the adjustment was signed in April. Sadtu wants the department to comply with the agreement and pay teachers their increased salaries.
The education department could not provide information on progress in Gauteng, Eastern Cape, Limpopo, Mpumalanga, North West and Northern Cape.
Naptosa has not joined Sadtu in declaring a dispute, preferring to furnish the department with details of eligible teachers who have not had their salaries adjusted in the hope the department will rectify the situation.
In some cases, money was owed to teachers for last year and this year, Naptosa president Dave Balt said. "What adds to the confusion is that when payments are made, there is no explanation of what the payment is for or for which period," he said.