Unisa crisis: Sparks fly between union and management in Parliament

The governance crisis and a “toxic culture” engulfing the University of South Africa (Unisa) were laid bare before MPs when serious accusations flew between a labour union and top management.

Vice-Chancellor Puleng LenkaBula and her team, who included the embattled director of legal services Professor Vuyo Peach came under fire for alleged intimidation, breaching of labour laws and withholding salary increments.

Management, student leaders and unions appeared before the higher education portfolio committee on Wednesday amid reports of alleged corruption and mismanagement.

The 150-year-old university is marred by frequent protests, strikes and complaints from students about its inefficient systems and controls.

ALSO READ: How would Unisa administration affect students? Department speaks

Higher Education Minister Blade Nzimande plans to place Unisa under administration following a damning report by independent assessor Professor Themba Mosia.

‘Workers are crying’

Labour union National Health and Allied Workers Union (Nehawu) laid into Unisa management, accusing them of instilling a culture of fear, bullying and victimisation of staff, union bashing and selective disciplinary processes, among others.

The union’s Unisa branch secretary Phillip Nkabinde accused the council and management of failing Unisa.

“Council and management do not hold each other accountable. Council is sleeping on the job, they work together to suffocate workers.

“We wrote to the council chairperson 11 times, to a point where we turned to the minister [Nzimande] himself as staff, leading to the appointment of the assessor.

“The intention was to say ‘chairperson, workers are crying’.”

Employee relations non-existent

Nkabinde added that staff morale was low, accusing Peach of trampling labour laws and firing six staffers despite a disciplinary outcome that directed suspensions.

When a staffer went to bury her father, LenkaBula fired her upon her return, said Nkabinde.

“We no longer have a bargaining platform at Unisa because of Peach, we rely on the CCMA to handle our labour issues.

“We bleed as we remember Tebogo Mosala being fired by the VC because she went to bury her father, and we will submit evidence on that. A woman fired another woman who was grieving.

“Settlement agreements signed at the CCMA are legally binding documents. When the CCMA says pay the workers as signed, they don’t, that is the Unisa you invited us to talk about.

“Ours with the employer is simply that we don’t engage, we engage through the CCMA, and we will be returning this coming Monday.

“When council approves a 5.4% increase, the employer gives us 4.6%. They take workers’ monies. Our cases are not handled by employer relations, they are handled by legal, and I am glad executive director of legal Professor Peach is here too.”

ALSO READ: MPs slam secret agreement with ex-UCT VC Phakeng, call panel ‘waste of time’

According to Nkabinde, Peach directed that seven shop stewards, who faced disciplinary hearings following a prolonged strike, be fired instead.

“It has been a year, the committee recommended they be allowed back because no case was proven.

“To date, the employer is refusing because the view was that the chairperson of the committee was supposed to give a dismissal verdict.”

Peach in a pickle

Unisa’s head of legal services is in hot water after the Labour Court directed the Legal Practice Council (LPC) to investigate his conduct in a case involving Unisa’s former vice-principal for operations and facilities, Marcia Socikwa.

A June TimesLive report alleged that he “sought to mislead” the court about the date Unisa filed papers. Acting judge Smanga Sethene said Peach “deliberately concealed material facts from the court”.

Sethene struck the urgent case off the roll.

In another matter in the North West, Peach is under fire for abandoning the provincial ANC’s disciplinary committee that he chaired.

He apparently left proceedings at the start of a disciplinary hearing against Deputy Minister in the Presidency Kenny Morolong in Potchefstroom.

The ANC said his actions put the party into disrepute, and that he gave no reason for his abrupt recusal, raising questions about substance of the previous cases he presided over.

MPs instruct labour, management to talk

Committee chairperson Nompendulo Mkhatshwa said the union’s complaints about lack of cooperation from management are not new.

“Victimisation has been raised many times by labour – we cannot ignore the disregard of voices of workers.

“All unions spoke about a lack of stakeholder relations, and that they are not heard.

“This is not new at all. What have we genuinely been doing about that? Our view is even if you don’t agree, have a meeting, have everyone sign minutes and document procedures.”

Other MPS criticised the university for its silence in the midst of the negative media reports.

“It’s as if they lost an ability to speak, they can’t communicate and clarify. Stories pop up and the university remains mum, it’s like there’s no spokesperson.

“The only time we here about Unisa is when [former president Thabo] Mbeki goes there to speak, it’s like you are hot-spotting communications from Mbeki.

“And why does this Prof Peach sound like Unisa’s own Mugabe? It seems labour has nowhere to go to,” said ANC MP Tebogo Letsie.

But Economic Freedom Fighters (EFF) MP Mandla Shikwambana accused the unions of ganging up against a woman leader because they were not getting their way.

“We are tired of situations where our mothers in leadership become targets for petty issues. The problem of Unisa is unions which are fighting for whatever, be it tenders and space for representation

“They then expect things and protection from management, and when they don’t get it, management becomes the target.”

He said there is a voice note circulating allegedly threatening rape from a male union member.

“Nehawu closes campus for three weeks because they are involved in student politics. They disrupt graduations.

“And then they tells us a woman is fighting a woman, but there’s a voice note saying they will rape a woman. They don’t talk about that,” Shikwambana said.

READ MORE: Unisa terminates contract of registrar Prof Steward Mothata

Nkabinde replied that the person who recorded the voice note was arrested.

“We do not stand for gender-based violence, we do not fight our own, hence we asked the VC to sit and talk.

“We don’t support any woman to be raped, all women are our mothers.”

‘Women fear being attacked’

Responding to the unions, LenkaBula said victimisation is one of Unisa’s Achilles heels.

“We recognise that organised labour is imperative for the success of the university. We believe that for that to manifest, we must follow cooperative governance requirements.

“Victimisation seems to be one of the Achilles heels or institutionalised culture of Unisa. They’ve accepted that they don’t support GBV, they also said that they are against it when calls for rape of women such as myself or others are made, but equally they did not condemn it.

“The majority of us as women are scared and fearful of speaking out and of engaging for fear of rape and molestation, which goes on without any engagement or apology,” she said.

Meanwhile, council chairperson Mashukudu Moboa told the committee that Unisa informed Nzimande that Mosia’s report has been taken on legal review.

He said the report was riddled with inaccuracies, and that Unisa was not afforded the right of reply by Mosia.

“We are not fighting the minister, we are considering the students and society at large.

“We told the minister that we believe that such a drastic decision of placing Unisa under administration will cause irreparable harm to the reputation and stature of Unisa.

“It will negatively affect its ranking which has been on the rise. Be aware that the composition of council has changed drastically since the assessor’s era, it’s a relatively new council and that’s what the minister will be dissolving.”

Nzimande was requested to wait for the court’s decision before taking any action.