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The industrial dispute at Parliament is now in the hands of representatives from the parliamentary workers’ union and the House, including Speaker Baleka Mbete, after a week’s negotiations failed to break the deadlock.
The national leadership of the National Education, Health and Allied Workers’ Union (Nehawu), including its president, Mzwandile Makwayiba, went to Parliament on Thursday to take over proceedings.
This happened two days after its deputy general secretary, Zola Saphetha, promised that national leaders would intervene.
He said this would include solidarity action by union members in the nine provincial legislatures.
City Press understands the Nehawu leadership was scheduled to negotiate with the presiding officers of Parliament. Yesterday, Mbete’s spokesperson, Mandlakazi Sigcawu, confirmed that there were discussions taking place between Nehawu and the political leadership of Parliament and that Mbete was part of those discussions.
Saphetha told striking workers that Makwayiba was “venturing into the political terrain to resolve the impasse”.
Saphetha said Nehawu’s national leaders would try “to locate correct authorities [and] engage with them so that, at least by Sunday [today], there is something coming out of the engagement, so that [on] Monday we report something tangible and the progress [made]. By Monday, when we come back to our work stations, we want to be ready to celebrate good news. This weekend is set aside.
“We have a line-up of discussions with many people who are relevant and responsible for the running of this institution,” said Saphetha. Makwayiba also pledged the support of Nehawu’s 279 000 members, saying that if Parliament did not give in to its demands, the union’s full membership would come out in support.
After the expulsion of 340 000 members of the National Union of Metalworkers of SA a year ago, Nehawu is understood to be trade federation Cosatu’s largest affiliate. The Parliament branch is the union’s largest and most strategic in the Western Cape.
By Friday, the respective positions of Parliament and the staff had hardened.
Parliament docked salaries for the days its employees had spent on the picket line. Parliament’s employees were paid these reduced wages on Friday.
Workers reacted by pulling out of the negotiations and are calling for the dismissal of the secretary to Parliament, Gengezi Mgidlana.
Parliament’s employees downed tools and headed for the picket line on November 6 after disputes arose about the calculations made to determine their bonuses.
Nehawu accuses Parliament of backtracking from a substantive agreement signed in March this year on the calculation of bonuses.
Protests continued throughout the week and became violent on Wednesday after striking staff disrupted Parliament’s portfolio committees and the institution called in public order police.
Mgidlana has come under severe criticism from the workers, who have issued calls for him to be removed.
The chairperson of Nehawu’s Parliament branch, Sthembiso Tembe, questioned Mgidlana’s relationship with Parliament’s presiding officers.
“We also know that the same Mgidlana only respects one presiding officer out of four. Perhaps it’s somebody who brought him here,” he said, in an obvious reference to Mbete.
Mgidlana became the secretary in December last year.
Initial attempts to appoint him by consensus – as has been a tradition in Parliament – were rejected by opposition parties who accused Mbete of imposing “an ANC deployee” on them and on Parliament. He was later appointed in any case after human resources processes were followed.
Now the employees want him out.
“We demand the immediate dismissal of Mgidlana,” said Tembe on Friday.
“He’s lost legitimacy as the secretary to Parliament and, as a union, we don’t want him in Parliament.”
