Nehawu calls on higher education minister to end exploitation of workers

By Lungile Ntimba

The National Education, Health and Allied Workers’ Union wants (Nehawu) wants Higher Education and Training Minister Nobuhle Nkabane to urgently resolve what it says is the exploitation of its members in the department.

The union says the department is working with individuals who are not part of its organisational structure, and more than 200 people have been on contracts for over 10 years with no commitment to absorb them permanently. 

Nehawu general secretary Zola Saphetha said on Tuesday that the union has witnessed the mistreatment of workers from the department’s management and poor administration. 

“Overtime now we have been witnessing poor administration in the department especially at head office, which systematically provides poor service and support to the PSET (Post-School Education and Training),” he said.

“This has resulted in a complete collapse of the Corporate Services Branch which seriously remains with skeleton staff due to the non-filling of vacant funded posts especially at senior management, using outdated human resource policies and a dysfunctional organisational structure whereby certain individuals within the department are working, but not appearing anywhere in the operational organisational structure of the depart