Task team for teacher pay talks

2009-07-01 20:02

Johannesburg - Government and teacher unions at odds over the occupation specific dispensation (OSD) have established a task team in an attempt to resolve the impasse, unions said on Wednesday.

SA Teachers Union chief executive Chris Klopper said principals from various unions met outside the bargaining chamber and opted to establish a task team to help end the deadlock between parties.

"They will have to do some more research and number crunching and look at the effects of the demand tabled... we have decided to try to meet each other outside the bargaining chamber," he said.

Klopper added that the atmosphere in the chamber was "acrimonious" which further hampered chances for agreement.

'Creative with money'

National Professional Teachers Organisation of SA negotiator Cecil Scorgie said the task team would look at ways to be "creative with the money".

SA Democratic Teachers' Union (Sadtu) acting general secretary Mugwena Maluleke said talks failed to yield results on Tuesday night as government was waiting on its mandating committee.

The union said it was not against taking the talks outside the bargaining chamber to end the impasse.
Klopper said the appointed team would report back on its progress next week.

Talks between government and labour deadlocked on Tuesday after the employer returned to the bargaining chamber with an offer which was R1.5bn short of the unions' expectation.

Not ruling out strikes

Sadtu said it would not rule out industrial action as a means to compel government to take the talks more seriously.

Public schools were currently closed for school holidays but parties were meant to reach an agreement on OSD by midnight on Tuesday. They failed to meet the deadline but all unions said they were determined to keep talking to find a solution.

They were urgently seeking to resolve the OSD issue as they were yet to negotiate for their 2009 pay hike. They have demanded a 15% increase.
 

- SAPA