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A view of the Upper Campus of the University of Cape Town, seen from the other side of the rugby fields. // Image: Wikimedia Commons / Adrian Frith

UCT academics gearing up for historic strike over ‘insulting’ pay increase

Academic staff at UCT are prepared to strike for the first time in the university’s history over a 3% pay increase offer.

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A view of the Upper Campus of the University of Cape Town, seen from the other side of the rugby fields. // Image: Wikimedia Commons / Adrian Frith

Academic staff at the University of Cape Town (UCT) are prepared to strike for the first time in the university’s history over the institution’s unwillingness to make an acceptable wage increase offer for 2023.

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UCT ACADEMICS TO STRIKE

The Academics’ Union (AU), which represents a majority of the academic staff at UCT, said 87% of its members said they are willing to take industrial action.

The union expects the Commission for Conciliation, Mediation and Arbitration (CCMA) to issue a Strike Certificate on Friday afternoon, 20 January.

The AU said UCT staff are prepared to go on strike over the “insulting and derisory” 3% pay increase tabled by the university for 2023, which is well below inflation.

The union added that the universities UCT historically used as a benchmark for comparative pay increases had offered their employees at least a 6% increase.

“We find it hard to accept that UCT, as one of the premier universities in South Africa, is unable to match the pay increases offered by other higher education institutions.

“The insult of the 3% pay offer is further compounded by the university having budgeted for an R183 million increase in student financial aid (a 106% increase from 2022),” said the leader of the AU bargaining team, Kelley Moult.

TEACHING COULD BE AFFECTED BY STRIKE

Moult said matching the pay increases offered by other universities would cost UCT R90 million and added AU members were not being greedy, adding that taking the 3% offer would effectively leave staff 4% worse off in real terms.

“The university bargaining team has constantly failed to return with a revised mandate since 1 December last year despite being given ample opportunity to do so.

“The time has come for academic staff to make it clear in no uncertain terms that they reject the offer made by the university management,” said AU President, Professor Andrew Lilley.

The AU rejected the 3% increase in December 2022 in a near-unanimous vote. This week, members expressed support for a three-day strike, which could potentially last longer, as soon as the CCMA issues the strike certificate.

Lilley said the strike would affect UCT in the weeks before the release of the 2022 supplementary exam results and registration for the 2023 academic year. “If there is no settlement, academic activities such as teaching may be adversely affected too.”

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