30 April - Labour
In today’s show, we heard from Mike Louw – from Cosatu . We were talking about activities they have planned for tomorrow as we will be celebrating workers day and of course the significance of this day. So if you lucky enough to have a day off tomorrow then you can join Cosatu May Day celebrations at the Good Hope centre in Cape Town from 10h00 to 15h30PM. The event will feature a number of political speakers including Ebrahim Patel and Gwede Mantashe. There will also be cultural acts and bands including Claire Phillips. There will also be a children’s event with facilities for the kids as well as movies. There will be free trains to transport people to and from the event as long as they have some identification, linking them to Cosatu. For more info contact COSATU offices on (021) 448 0044.
We were also heard from Tara Weinberg, Thembi, Junaid and Mr X - they are members of the UCT Students and Workers Alliance. The UCT Students’ and Workers’ Alliance is formed by a group of students and workers who have come together to support the workers’ struggle at UCT. One of their aims is to work towards creating a strong student-worker connection. Earlier this year the Alliance launched a petition which signals the support of students and staff for the outsourced workers at UCT and for their struggle for better working conditions. So today at one o’ clock they handed over that petition to the UCT management. They explained more about the march. For more information contact Tara on 076 787 2966 alternatively send an email to mailto:taraweinberg@gmail.com
We heard from Jamie Lee, a breath and voice technician. Jamie also owns his out company which trains people in public speaking. We spoke about some of the consultancy services provided. If you are interested in reading up on Speak Out, you can visit their website www.speak-out.synthasite.com or call (021) 701 6920.
We were scheduled to close off the show with an interview with Mr Ray Hartel – from the University of Cape Town. Mr Hartel was not available to respond to the allegations tabled by the UCT Students and Workers Alliance, as he was at the march to receive the petition. Mr Hartel did however send his response, on behalf of the University, to some of the questions posed. Please see below:
· What is the Universities immediate response to the petition drawn up by the Student Workers Alliance?
Outsourcing is not a new initiative at UCT. In fact, the outsourcing of some services was agreed by the University council in 1999.
At the time of the decision to outsource, the UCT Council adopted a resolution that ensured the outsourcing programme was allied to a progressive employment framework. Employees of outsourced service providers were paid, at the very least, a 'living wage' as set by independent agencies such as the Bureau for Economic Research.
In addition, the Council agreed to pay employees of service providers a “Supplemented Living Level” allowance, which is considerably higher than the minimum living wage levels. This “allowance” is fully paid by the university and in 2009 the SLL set a monthly minimum wage of R3 491.35 for employees of service providers in full-time employment and servicing UCT. The average monthly minimum wage paid to workers in the market is R2 100.
UCT also ensured the implementation of a rigorous code of conduct for service providers in respect of fair labour practices.
We welcome the recent establishment of the UCTSWA (UCT Student and Worker Alliance) and look forward to working with them as well as with other relevant bodies on matters that affect UCT, these being the contractors (service providers) and the people employed by the contractors (employees).
· Workers claim that they are not allowed to mobilise and form part of a union. Are you aware that workers fear intimidation from the University?
I think we need to be clear that the university is not the employer but that the outsourced service providers are the employers of the workers in those operational areas and services that have been outsourced. So, I don’t think that in this instance, a charge is being made that workers fear intimidation from the university. Certainly, even if that charge were made against the university as a third party, UCT is not engaged in any acts of intimidation.
· Workers are angry surrounding the issue of outsourcing; would you say that the companies UCT deals with are reputable?
These companies are subjected to UCT’s procurement policy and to the extent that we have full confidence in the checks and vetting processes inherent in that policy, we have no reason to doubt the bona fides of our service providers. People are entitled to challenge our policies or even appointments made in terms of those policies and there are obviously processes to be followed in that regard.
In addition, UCT has developed a code of conduct which these service providers have to comply with. This is a very progressive initiative and the code sets out a range of requirements, including matters such as the right to freedom of association and collective bargaining, working conditions, minimum wages, overtime pay, etc. Each company is required to submit a report every six months, indicating their compliance with the code and the employers are given the opportunity to respond. At a recent meeting, service providers and employees committed to the rigorous implementation of the code.
UCT has also provided consultants to assist employees prepare responses and to better engage with the process. Commencing in 2009, service providers are required to report how they have responded to employees' complaints.
Furthermore, the consultants will assist in ensuring that the Employee Representative Committees are properly and fairly established and that the voices of the employees are heard on matters that impact on their rights in terms of the UCT Code of Conduct.
· Staff who enrol their children at UCT pay fees that have been heavily subsidised, why are general workers not entitled to this benefit as well?
As indicated before, the workers employed by the outsourced service providers are subject to that employment relationship and contract and are not contracted to UCT.
All other matters raised by the workers will be for the employers' attention and it is important to clarify that UCT will not be assuming the role of proxy employer as this is not what is intended nor is it legally appropriate.
We were also heard from Tara Weinberg, Thembi, Junaid and Mr X - they are members of the UCT Students and Workers Alliance. The UCT Students’ and Workers’ Alliance is formed by a group of students and workers who have come together to support the workers’ struggle at UCT. One of their aims is to work towards creating a strong student-worker connection. Earlier this year the Alliance launched a petition which signals the support of students and staff for the outsourced workers at UCT and for their struggle for better working conditions. So today at one o’ clock they handed over that petition to the UCT management. They explained more about the march. For more information contact Tara on 076 787 2966 alternatively send an email to mailto:taraweinberg@gmail.com
We heard from Jamie Lee, a breath and voice technician. Jamie also owns his out company which trains people in public speaking. We spoke about some of the consultancy services provided. If you are interested in reading up on Speak Out, you can visit their website www.speak-out.synthasite.com or call (021) 701 6920.
We were scheduled to close off the show with an interview with Mr Ray Hartel – from the University of Cape Town. Mr Hartel was not available to respond to the allegations tabled by the UCT Students and Workers Alliance, as he was at the march to receive the petition. Mr Hartel did however send his response, on behalf of the University, to some of the questions posed. Please see below:
· What is the Universities immediate response to the petition drawn up by the Student Workers Alliance?
Outsourcing is not a new initiative at UCT. In fact, the outsourcing of some services was agreed by the University council in 1999.
At the time of the decision to outsource, the UCT Council adopted a resolution that ensured the outsourcing programme was allied to a progressive employment framework. Employees of outsourced service providers were paid, at the very least, a 'living wage' as set by independent agencies such as the Bureau for Economic Research.
In addition, the Council agreed to pay employees of service providers a “Supplemented Living Level” allowance, which is considerably higher than the minimum living wage levels. This “allowance” is fully paid by the university and in 2009 the SLL set a monthly minimum wage of R3 491.35 for employees of service providers in full-time employment and servicing UCT. The average monthly minimum wage paid to workers in the market is R2 100.
UCT also ensured the implementation of a rigorous code of conduct for service providers in respect of fair labour practices.
We welcome the recent establishment of the UCTSWA (UCT Student and Worker Alliance) and look forward to working with them as well as with other relevant bodies on matters that affect UCT, these being the contractors (service providers) and the people employed by the contractors (employees).
· Workers claim that they are not allowed to mobilise and form part of a union. Are you aware that workers fear intimidation from the University?
I think we need to be clear that the university is not the employer but that the outsourced service providers are the employers of the workers in those operational areas and services that have been outsourced. So, I don’t think that in this instance, a charge is being made that workers fear intimidation from the university. Certainly, even if that charge were made against the university as a third party, UCT is not engaged in any acts of intimidation.
· Workers are angry surrounding the issue of outsourcing; would you say that the companies UCT deals with are reputable?
These companies are subjected to UCT’s procurement policy and to the extent that we have full confidence in the checks and vetting processes inherent in that policy, we have no reason to doubt the bona fides of our service providers. People are entitled to challenge our policies or even appointments made in terms of those policies and there are obviously processes to be followed in that regard.
In addition, UCT has developed a code of conduct which these service providers have to comply with. This is a very progressive initiative and the code sets out a range of requirements, including matters such as the right to freedom of association and collective bargaining, working conditions, minimum wages, overtime pay, etc. Each company is required to submit a report every six months, indicating their compliance with the code and the employers are given the opportunity to respond. At a recent meeting, service providers and employees committed to the rigorous implementation of the code.
UCT has also provided consultants to assist employees prepare responses and to better engage with the process. Commencing in 2009, service providers are required to report how they have responded to employees' complaints.
Furthermore, the consultants will assist in ensuring that the Employee Representative Committees are properly and fairly established and that the voices of the employees are heard on matters that impact on their rights in terms of the UCT Code of Conduct.
· Staff who enrol their children at UCT pay fees that have been heavily subsidised, why are general workers not entitled to this benefit as well?
As indicated before, the workers employed by the outsourced service providers are subject to that employment relationship and contract and are not contracted to UCT.
All other matters raised by the workers will be for the employers' attention and it is important to clarify that UCT will not be assuming the role of proxy employer as this is not what is intended nor is it legally appropriate.
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