Nelson Mandela University 'tense' after salary talks stall

Tensions are running high at Nelson Mandela University (NMU) following eight months of fruitless salary negotiations between unions and management which saw more than half the staff boycott an end-of-year farewell function.

The dispute centres around NMU providing notice via e-mail on November 27 of its intention to terminate the 2012 Conditions of Service and Benefits Agreement (CoS).

The collective agreement‚ among other things‚ provides a formula used at the university during annual wage negotiations.

The CoS agreement saw staff previously receiving an annual increase of between 8% and 12%.

The decision to terminate the CoS followed eight months of unresolved salary negotiations and NMU then took the decision to terminate “as the terms of the agreement have proved to be no longer sustainable”‚ NMU spokeswoman Zandile Mbabela said.

“It is based on the need to be financially prudent at a time when the university has a budget deficit of R68-million and‚ like all other institutions in the sector‚ is facing an uncertain future.”

The Herald