The National Education, Health and Allied Workers' Union [NEHAWU] in KwaZulu-Natal calls for the immediate removal of the autocratic and rogue vice chancellor of the Durban University of Technology.
The union has written numerous letters to the Chairperson of Council raising our concerns about the state of the University, inability of the council to provide oversight and supervision to the Vice-Chancellor, however the chairperson of council has taken the conscious decision to ignore our letters. This is precisely because of his cosy relationship with the Vice-Chancellor.
Since his appointment , the Vice-Chancellor has gone out of his way to destabilize the institution through his autocratic leadership and intransigent management style. The union has witnessed maladministration and instability at the university under his leadership. We have witnessed the continuous abuse of power and total disregard to governance.
We have witnessed union bashing and victimization of our shop-stewards which have led to mass dismissals of our shop-stewards and members. The university has spent millions trying to defend these unfair dismissals after the union emerged victorious at CCMA in all of these cases. In the past few weeks, the university wanted to retrench more than one hundred fifty two(152) workers without following the Section 189 of the Labour Relations Act.
The autocratic Vice-Chancellor working together with his cabal in executive management have also unilateral changed the conditions of services of workers leaving more than one thousand five hundred workers worse of. As we speak they are many awards against the university that relate to the violation and abuse of human resources management and supply chain management processes in the university. The Vice-Chancellor has done all these under the pretext of "transforming" the university.
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Having witnessed the maladministration and instability at DUT, we have written to the council demanding the immediate removal of the Vice Chancellor. We have given the Council an ultimatum of five days to respond to our demands otherwise the union shall render the university ungovernable and its system unworkable. The Vice Chancellor has proven beyond reasonable doubt that his incapable of leading the institution of significant like DUT. This is the last chance of the council to redeem and cleanse itself by acting decisively against the Vice-Chancellor.
The union as the largest union in the post schooling education and training sector will at all material times be with the workers against any form of bullying; oppression and victimization by people like DUT outgoing Vice-Chancellor.
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