The North West MEC for Health, Dr Magome Masike has expressed disappointment at the failed negotiations between the Mmabatho College SRC and the management of the department.
The MEC had earlier today called a meeting with the Student representatives and other stakeholders including Denosa and Cosatu. It must be on record that the students’ representatives elected to walk out of the meeting when they were not willing to negotiate on the basis of the progress that was made in the last meeting but rather asked to start the negotiations afresh.
To date, the students have now embarked on more than two months long boycott of clinical practical’s and learning activities.
It should also be on record that the initial demands of the students were that the Department of Health cease to transport them to clinical facilities and to accommodate them. As result, they wanted to be given transport and accommodation allowance.
The department has always been willing to negotiate and meet the students half way as some of their demands were deemed reasonable. To that effect, the department has after countless meetings resolved to move from the original position and therefore agreed to pay transport allowance with immediate effect. However, with regard to accommodation, the department reasoned that there are already lease agreements for rental of accommodation facilities occupied by students and therefore requested that such an allowance should start in the new academic year in January 2015.
This was to avoid paying both the students and the landlords. To the shock of the management, the students demanded that the department can pay students allowance for accommodation and continue to pay landlords in respect of the lease agreement. The department refused to this demand as it will be irregular expenditure.
The students have continued to change goal posts in the negotiations, a clear indication that they are not interested in assisting to finding solutions to their demands.
On alleged congestion at facilities, the department resolved on a rotation system, however ensuring that all students get to be placed on night duty because even when they graduate to be nurses, they will be expected to work at night.
To the disappointment of the department, when progress was made and there SRC seemed to accede to the solutions proposed, the student continued to parachute issues into the negotiations, the latest being that the students are now demanding to be put on the persal system. The department is of the view that a move to put students on a persal system requires multi-stakeholders engagements as there are many students who are offered bursaries by the department. Moreover, such a move will require extensive consultation not only in the province but nationally. This is because nursing students are not employees and therefore cannot be treated differently to other students who are offered bursaries by government elsewhere.
Students are further reminded of the fact that by engaging on class boycott they have violated the contract they signed with the department. The contract clearly states that, “the department further reserves the right to cancel the contract should students chose to do among others; disrupt classes and clinical practical’s or the boycott thereof”. The contract further states that the students are obliged to among others “attend all prescribed classes and clinical practical’s or research at the College/University of Technology/ University, attend and complete the programme within the period provided or such extended period as may be approved by the College/ University of technology/University”. The department is of the view that the students have violated the contract in all these instances.
By walking out of the negotiations earlier today, the students have also violated a court ruling which ordered the department to re-open the college, to continue with negotiations and resume academic activities.
The department has however noted that there are students who desperately want to go to class and continue with their studies. To that effect and in taking a way forward, the department is announcing to all the parents and the students that the college is re-opening and the academic activities will resume on Monday, 14 July 2014. The department calls for a meeting with the general college students on Friday, 11 July 2014 at 08h00 which will be followed by a meeting with the parents of all the students at 11h00am on the same day. The meeting will express the position of the department to the students and parents and further resolve on mechanisms to recoup lost academic time.
The department remains committed to resolve any legitimate grievance of the students.
Enquiries:
Tebogo Lekgethwane
Department Spokesperson
Cell: 082 929 9958
E-mail: tlekgethwane@nwpg.gov.za
