SADTU responds to the statement issued by the Department of Basic Education
19 April 2013
SADTU says the Department's statement is misleading and unfounded
We would like to register our disappointment and dismay at the statement released by the department of Basic Education on the 18th of April 2013. It is rather regrettable that this day and age a government department goes into a lying extravaganza in a desperate attempt to divert the country's attention from the pressing issues in a sector that has been classified as an apex priority by the ruling party.
Firstly, it is very misleading from the side of the minister through the said statement to reduce the current contradictions and our subsequent programme of action to just the leadership of the union in whose "continued posture" she expresses disappointment. We have always maintained that ours is a programme of action which has been driven by the entire membership of the union.
Let us remind the minister that it was at the union's last national general council from the 26th to the 28th of October 2012 that the membership emphatically rejected the employer's offer regarding the tariffs of the markers. It was once again the union's membership at the said constitutional gathering that expressed a very dim view of the state of other collective agreements and policies that had been agreed to but were either partially implemented or not implemented at all.
In terms of collective agreement 1 of 2011 it was the union's leadership collective representing all 9 provinces in a special national executive committee that crafted a programme of action in response to the minister's unilateral withdrawal of a collective agreement. The entire membership then engaged the programme of action in site and branch mass meetings.
We thus want to make it clear that the leadership is communicating what the membership is saying on the ground, our campaign in defence of collective bargaining as our right and the promotion of quality public education cannot and must not be reduced to certain individuals within the leadership collective. The very fact that the campaign thus far has been very successful, this includes the application of work to rule and the numerous pickets we have had throughout the country, gives a clear indication that the membership owns this programme of action.
Secondly we want to categorically state that contrary to what has been mentioned by the minister in the statement, there is currently no mediation process that involves us unfolding. It is thus inaccurate in the extreme to give an impression that the department is currently interacting with us at a mediation level and that we are acting outside of that process. We want to advice the department of basic education to focus on the crux of the matter instead of a propaganda campaign that is bound to fail. Lies do have very short legs after all.
We remain hopeful that we will receive the resignations of both the minister and the director general as soon as possible. The poor performance in Mathematics acknowledged Department's statement is a further acknowledgement of a lack of leadership in the department and change is required as in yesterday.
Our members will continue to intensify the campaign and our planned mass action will continue as planned on the 24th of April. We will defend our right to collective bargaining and that of the African working class child to access quality public education unapologetically; no amount of lies will deter us. Time is the greatest proof of the truth and all lies shall be exposed in time.
Statement issued by SADTU, April 19 2013
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