FETC News Flash 5 of 2012: FETC Amendment Act Signed

Date : 2012-05-07
Author : L Smit.Head FETC Unit, NAPTOSA
Category : FET

FETC AMENDMENT ACT SIGNED

NAPTOSA was informed on Friday that the President had signed the FETC Amendment Act.  The Union has not seen a copy of the signed act yet.

The Amendment Act provides for the employment of college employees by the state, as well as the transfer of functions related to colleges from provincial departments of education to the Department of Higher Education and Training. 

NAPTOSA members should note (as stated in previous news flashes) that the Minister of Higher Education and Training has to announce the date(s) on which various functions will be transferred to the Department of Higher Education and Training.  This includes the date on which college employees will become state employees.  UNTIL THAT HAPPENS, THE STATUS QUO REMAINS, i.e. lecturing and support staff will remain college employees. 

It is, for example, possible that senior management staff (appointed in terms of the Public Service Act) and departmental officials may be transferred to the employ of the Department of Higher Education and Training before other employees are transferred.

The Department of Higher Education and Training is determined not to make the same mistakes that were made when lecturers and public servants were transferred in 2008 with undue haste without having well-thought through strategies and processes in place.  A migration strategy for lecturing staff and assumingly also provincial officials employed in educator posts, will be discussed at an ELRC workshop scheduled for 23 May 2012.  A similar workshop will be held in the GPSSBC (bargaining unit for support staff) on 22 May 2012.  Members can expect a report from NAPTOSA on 24 May.

Processes, procedures and timeframes will most probably form the core of the migration strategy.  On several occasions in the past NAPTOSA stated that the lack of communication was one of the main reasons why the previous transfer process had caused such a lot of frustration and insecurity.  It seems as if the Department of Higher Education and Training has taken this to heart.  They have already indicated that a communication strategy will be one of their main priorities.

FETC TASK TEAM MEETING

The FETCBU Task Team met on Wednesday, 2 May.  The following three items were on the  agenda:

i)              Permanent appointment of temporary lecturers.  The task team still has to work on the definitions and criteria for permanent appointment.

ii)             Standardised payment rates for after hours classes – a working document still has to be drafted.

iii)            Equalisation of benefits – a working document will be drafted after teams, consisting of labour and the employer, have finalised an audit on salaries and benefits of employees remunerated by colleges.

Salary negotiations

The PSCBC met last week to discuss the offer that the Employer had tabled:

i)     Salary increase of 5.9%.      ii)  Multi-term agreement             iii)  Housing clauses to be accepted as they were.

Labour’s demand is currently a salary increase of 8.7%.  The Employer indicated they would  have to seek a mandate to increase their offer.  The next meeting has been scheduled for 8 May 2012.