Officials at the Department of Education provincial office in Barkly Road are unable to leave the premises as Sadtu vehicles are obstructing all entrances.
OFFICIALS at the Department of Education provincial office in Barkly Road are unable to leave the premises as South African Democratic Teachers Organisation (Sadtu) vehicles are obstructing all entrances.
One official lamented that he was unable to leave for his farm in Taung for the weekend as planned, at 11am on Friday morning as he was parked in.
Sadtu provincial chairperson Senzo Mpalala said the district leadership had staged a sit-in at the offices and would not leave until their demands were met.
“If we did not take action now, our grievances will never receive any attention. We demanded a meeting with the MEC and head of department – who was on her way back from De Aar.”
Sadtu provincial secretary Palesa Nqumashe stated that the working conditions at schools had a direct impact on academic performance.
“The challenges include poor infrastructure and ablution blocks that are without water during the Covid-19 pandemic.”
She added that teachers were not receiving their acting allowances.
“Teachers whose contracts came to an end in February were terminated. A number of educators never received their salaries in February. There is a shortage of Grade R practitioners throughout the province while a moratorium was placed on filling posts in the districts.”
Nqumashe indicated that the shortage of support and administrative staff was resulting in a collective agreement regarding the annual conversion of staff not being implemented.
The Department of Education stated that they would comment after the meeting was concluded.
