Service workers at South Africa’s universities were outsourced since the late 1990’s after the ANC government adopted its GEAR economic policy. This meant that cleaners, security, transport and catering workers were no longer directly employed by univerities. They were now employed by outsourced companies, losing most of their benefits and earning less than half their wages.
After weeks of protests and putting pressure on university management, students from poor families and workers at the Nelson Mandela Metropolitan University were victorious. The university council released a statement saying that they have resolved to commit the university to ending outsourcing of service workers. The council also pledged debt relief for students.
The student strike at Wits University gained momentum when the vice chancellor and his executive deadlocked in negotiations with maybe 2,000 students in the occupied Senate House (renamed Solomon Mahlangu House) over a fee hike of 10.5% for next year.
In August 2015, residents from Ginsberg blockaded roads demanding better roads and other services from the local municipality. In the following month of September, the month when the founder of Black Conciousness in South Africa, Steve Biko, saw a number of political parties coming to Ginsberg to commemorate the 38th year since Steve Biko was killed. The political parties were the ANC, EFF and the DA.
The Rugby World Cup has come and gone and the Boks team is still a topical issue. With only 8 black players in the team that competed in the world cup, transformation of rugby remains necessary.
In order to deal with the challenge of poor rugby development in Khayelitsha, Connect Community Development established a rugby academy to nurture the skills of young rugby players and afford them an opportunity to play rugby.
At the launch of 16 days of activism against gender violence, the Department of Justice and Constitutional Development in the Western Cape said that just over 10,000 protection orders are registered in the province every month.
Hishaam Mohamed said the Western Cape had recorded the highest number in South Africa, and what was even more concerning was that it is an increase “of just over 2,000 protection order applications in the past year”.
On the 13th and the 14th of July 2015 COSATU held its Special National Congress after nearly two years since NUMSA and other affiliates called for it. The special national congress was to allow COSATU’s highest and most democratic decision-making structure to deal decisively with the conflict and divisions in the federation. But after the expulsion of NUMSA and later COSATU General Secretary Zwelinzima Vavi, the narrative changed for those affiliates who felt that both Vavi and NUMSA were hard done by.
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