SADTU rejects the DA's Private Members Bill which seeks to erode the teachers' right to strike
SADTU rejects, with the contempt it deserves, the Private Member's Bill submitted by the DA in parliament today which seeks to limit the teachers' right to strike. This posture doesn't come as a surprise to SADTU because the DA has and will always be anti-transformation and anti-unionization of teachers in particular and worker rights in general.
The Bill is nothing but an attempt by the DA to impose values of capitalization and privatization on education. It is not intended for teachers or betterment of education but to undermine SADTU's gains which we struggled to win. Its intention is erode working class victories.
Unfortunately, we can't take that lying down. Quality education can only be defined by the investment in the inputs being teachers, the learners' background and the infrastructure. This investment is aimed at improving the teaching process, which is so complex, with the ultimate aim of improving the expected outcomes which is learner performance.
The DA's Bill proposes that teachers' strikes can only legally take place after consultation between government, unions and school governing bodies. These groups will agree on the manner in which the strike must be conducted and the treatment of the pupils during the strike period. This further undermines the teaching profession and the ability of teachers to determine their conditions of service.
The Bill further proposes that teachers who engage in violence, looting and vandalism to face criminal charges. Teachers' strikes have not been marked by violence, looting and vandalism. We are professionals and not looters. We don't need an amendment to deal strike rules because such are negotiated at the level of collective bargaining chamber which the DA undermines.
The concern about the pupils during strikes is a fallacy from the DA. Motivation for the Bill is based on misleading findings of the Tokiso Review report on labour disputes over the period of 1995 - 2009. The strike united all unions in the public service, regardless of federation or political affiliation. SADTU accounts for less than a quarter of total union membership in the public service.
SADTU will fight tooth and nail to ensure that the teachers' rights, gained through sweat and blood, are protected. We will challenge the Bill from all fronts. We will continue to fight for the improvement of quality public education and play a leading role in the quality learning and teaching campaign. The DA must stop misleading our people and allow our teachers to prepare our Grade 12 learners for examinations.
Statement issued by Mugwena Maluleke, SADTU General Secretary, October 17 2011
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