Share

PYA to join striking Wits workers

Johannesburg - The Progressive Youth Alliance (PYA) will join striking workers on Thursday at the University of the Witwatersrand (Wits).

The PYA was calling on university management to address workers' demands to ensure it could focus on educating students, it said in a statement.

The PYA consists of the Young Communist League (YCL), the African National Congress Youth League (ANCYL), the SA Students' Congress (Sasco) and the Congress of SA Students (Cosas).

Sasco general secretary Themba Masondo said the PYA planned on Thursday to observe how the negotiations were being held.

"We will just be showing support to the workers and observing the situation," Masondo said.

The delegation would be made up of the general secretaries of these organisations.

On Wednesday, Wits staff vowed not to back down from the salary demands they presented to management during a one-day strike on Tuesday.

They have demanded a nine percent increase. Management has offered 6.8% for support staff and 7.55% for academics.

They have also demanded more funds for research projects, and have complained about a shortage of parking space and child care facilities.

The Academic Staff Association of Wits University (Asawu) and the National Health and Allied Workers' Union (Nehawu) walked out of talks on Monday. Asawu said it would make the same demands on Thursday.

The university said it was waiting for Asawu and Nehawu to give it a counter-offer or give reasons for their rejection of management's proposals.

A third union, the Wits Administration, Library and Technical Staff Association (Altsa), signed an agreement on Monday nigt.

Wits spokeswoman Shirona Patel said a salary analysis had shown that the institution was currently a "market leader" when it came to academic remuneration.
"Wits has offered competitive salary packages which have consistently exceeded inflation," she said in a statement.

*Follow Fin24 on Twitter, Facebook and Google+.
We live in a world where facts and fiction get blurred
Who we choose to trust can have a profound impact on our lives. Join thousands of devoted South Africans who look to News24 to bring them news they can trust every day. As we celebrate 25 years, become a News24 subscriber as we strive to keep you informed, inspired and empowered.
Join News24 today
heading
description
username
Show Comments ()
Rand - Dollar
18.94
-0.2%
Rand - Pound
23.91
-0.1%
Rand - Euro
20.43
+0.2%
Rand - Aus dollar
12.34
+0.1%
Rand - Yen
0.13
-0.2%
Platinum
910.50
+1.5%
Palladium
1,011.50
+1.0%
Gold
2,221.35
+1.2%
Silver
24.87
+0.9%
Brent Crude
86.09
-0.2%
Top 40
68,346
+1.0%
All Share
74,536
+0.8%
Resource 10
57,251
+2.8%
Industrial 25
103,936
+0.6%
Financial 15
16,502
-0.1%
All JSE data delayed by at least 15 minutes Iress logo
Company Snapshot
Editorial feedback and complaints

Contact the public editor with feedback for our journalists, complaints, queries or suggestions about articles on News24.

LEARN MORE
Government tenders

Find public sector tender opportunities in South Africa here.

Government tenders
This portal provides access to information on all tenders made by all public sector organisations in all spheres of government.
Browse tenders