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The South African Democratic Teachers’ Union heeds the call by our Federation COSATU to embark on a national strike on job losses, State Capture and Corruption on 27 September, 2017.

This protected strike was prompted by the revelations by the Public Protector that the country has been captured and there is a network of the predatory elite that is engaged in looting state resources and corrupt activities.

The first casualties of state capture and corruption are workers who stand to lose jobs and their hard-earned pensions looted. We can no longer tolerate this deafening silence from President Jacob Zuma to establish a Judicial Commission of Inquiry into state capture as per the Public Protector’s recommendation.

We demand that President Zuma establish the Commission as a matter of urgency and for the state to deal with the predatory elite and cancel all commercial dealings with the Gupta family.

Over and above these demands, as a Union in the education sector, SADTU shall use the strike to press for the following demands:
〈 The payment of 0,5% pay progression to all education personnel in the basic and post schooling sectors to ensure parity in the public service;
〈 Safety in all learning institutions;
〈 Payment of rural and other incentives;
〈 Formalisation of conditions of employment of Grade R practitioners;
〈 Implementation of Free Higher education for the poor, focusing on the missing middle (teachers, nurses and the police);
〈 Prohibition of profit making in education by edu-prenuers;
〈 Education tax directed at business to pay for higher education;
〈 Respect collective bargaining by the Department of Higher Education and Training;
〈 Address all conditions of service of all Community Education and Training Colleges (CET) educators.

SADTU members shall in their numbers, alongside their counterparts in the Federation, paint all the cities and towns red when we march on the 27th of September.

Issued by SADTU