by admin | Feb 11, 2022 | ARCHIVES, NEWSROOM
As is the case with budget speeches, the maiden Budget Speech, 2022, of the current Minister of Finance, Minister Enoch Godongwana, contained a number of positive elements, but also a number of aspects that concern us.
As expected, the Minister allocated substantial funding for the economic recovery programme announced by the President in his recent State of the Nation Address. NAPTOSA is a firm believer that economic recovery is the only way out of the cycle of poverty and unemployment that is gripping our country. It is also pleasing to see government envisaging greater utilisation of public-private partnerships to support infrastructure projects.
But setting aside funding for infrastructure investment will only show an impact on these societal afflictions of poverty and unemployment if the money is used sagely, circumspectly and corruption free.
NAPTOSA expects the President to give detailed feedback to the nation in the next SONA on the impact of the recovery programme and we will be closely watching the unemployment numbers to see if there is any tangible evidence that the programme is showing success.
Unfortunately, the funding of the economic recovery programme comes at a cost to other programmes. While the funding for education over the Medium-Term Expenditure Framework (MTEF) period remains one of the largest items in the national budget (R 28,5b in 2021/22 to R 31,4b in 2024/25) and will increase by an average of 3,3 %, it is not nearly enough to address inter alia the issues of overcrowding in schools, insufficient number of new schools erected and inadequate maintenance of school infrastructure brought about by the budgetary cuts forced on education departments the past few years.
It feels that we are continually treading water in education, not really making progress. Funding for planned infrastructure maintenance gets watered down by the annual infrastructure regression due to vandalism and destruction of school property, exacerbated last year by the protest action in KZN and Gauteng.
We have in the past called for funding to be set aside to once and for all eradicate water and sanitation backlogs in schools. While we welcome the funding set aside for the provisioning of water to 50 schools and safe sanitation to 450 schools in this budget, we are disappointed that the Minister, as the new broom, did not take the bold step to provide funding for the total eradication of these backlogs.
The Minister’s announcements regarding public service remuneration are both confusing and disturbing. It is not clear what the additional allocation of R 24,6b to provinces to compensate for the shortfall in teacher’s compensation refers to, but it apparently does not mean additional money for teachers.
The additional R 20,5b set aside to meet the cost implications of the 2020/21 public service wage agreement is worrisome because it means that government did not have sufficient funds in last year’s budget to fund the agreement. This obviously seriously impacts available funding for this year’s wage negotiations.
The announced annual increase in employee compensation of an average of 1,8% over the next three years also does not bode well for salary negotiations. The Minister referred to the upcoming Collective Bargaining Summit on 28-30 March 2022, arranged by the PSCBC, expressing the hope that it will give stakeholders an opportunity to engage on building a sustainable public service and remuneration guidelines. NAPTOSA will be participating in the Summit. The Minister is mistaken to think that his allocation for wage increases will not cast a shadow over the Summit.
We appreciate the Minister’s decision to grant some personal tax relief, grant an increase in medical credits, not tamper with VAT and to refrain from increasing the fuel and Road Accident Fund levies. Workers already suffer greatly from food and fuel inflation, higher interest rates and economic hardships brought about by the pandemic. We also welcome the increase in social grants and the allocation for the extension of the social relief for disaster grant.
NAPTOSA remains cautiously supportive of the restructuring of the retirement system for individuals that could possibly allow employees to make limited withdrawals from their pension funds. We await the publication of the draft legislation in this regard. We would also need to see what the impact of such a proposal would have on the GEPF. Fortunately, this would be a matter that would need to be flighted in the PSCBC, where we would have a proper opportunity to view all the details.
The announcement of the continued support to keep ESKOM financially sustainable to the tune of R 88b over the next three year, while understood, is hard to swallow, especially in view of ESKOM’s current application to NERSA for a 20,5 % tariff increase. We urge government to speed up the process of paving the way for alternative power generation.
The announcement by the Minister that charges have been brought against a company Director and a Gupta associate involved in the corrupt ESTINA dairy project, smacks of deflection of the broader corruption issue. What about the involvement of politicians?
We trust that the positive elements of the budget speech, that will bring some financial relief to workers, will not be usurped by the employer’s approach to the 2022 wage negotiations.
by admin | Feb 11, 2022 | ARCHIVES, NEWSROOM
NAPTOSA welcomes the frankness with which President Cyril Ramaphosa in his State of the Nation Address (SONA) 2022, confronted the problems facing our country, and outlined plans to tackle them. The speech conveyed a sense that, more than before, there is a serious commitment to get South Africa back on track.
We agree that poverty, unemployment and inequality are unacceptable components of our society. The extension of the R 350 p.m. Social Relief of Distress Grant is therefore supported as well as the fact that work will be done during this period to come up with a viable replacement. The placement of 10 000 TVET graduates in workplaces from April 2022, and the revitalized National Youth Service that envisages the creation of 50 000 youth employment opportunities are positive steps but will unfortunately not make a dent in our youth unemployment rate of 75%. The President’s call for the exclusion of experience as a prerequisite for jobs to assist new graduates is wholeheartedly endorsed as this will greatly assist the youth with sustainable jobs.
While these initiatives are welcomed, it is clear that the only real way out of the unemployment challenge is through strong economic growth. It was therefore encouraging to hear a President for the first time acknowledge that business, and not government, creates jobs and that business is often hamstrung by too many regulations that are complicated, costly and difficult to comply with.
The mobilization of social partners – government, labour, business and communities – to create a comprehensive social compact over 100 days to focus on growing the economy, creating jobs and combating hunger is an ambitious project. We are fully supportive of this initiative and as part of FEDUSA expect to play our part in the establishment of this compact.
We agree with the President that infrastructure is a critical cog in our economic recovery. The plans announced for improving our electricity supply (unfortunately previous announcements on this have come to naught), improving water delivery (especially important to schools), upgrading rural road infrastructure, improving the operational efficiencies of our ports and revitalizing our rail transport system, if these can be achieved, will go a long way in supporting our economic recovery. Let’s hope and pray that these plans will come to fruition as well as the plans to restore the health of State-owned Enterprises. We welcome the fact that there is to be an exercise to determine which of these entities are to be retained, consolidated or disposed of and to minimize political interference in them.
We are concerned that the President mentioned a school infrastructure delivery program only briefly. In this day and age, it is sad that the country’s schools are characterized by crumbling infrastructure and overcrowded classrooms. Many of these schools, infringe on the very constitutional rights that the President made reference to. NAPTOSA calls on the Minister of Basic Education to focus on addressing these pertinent issues.
We welcome the President’s position that all individuals and companies responsible for state capture must now be held to account. We hope to see swift action by the prosecution authorities. We also await the President’s indication that he will by 30 June 2022 present a plan of action in response to the Zondo commission’s recommendations.
Another positive commitment from the SONA is the empowerment of women as well as the promise to intensify the fight against Gender Based Violence. These are issues that NAPTOSA is extremely passionate about
The President’s firm commitment to switching off analogue broadcasting is positive after too many delays. Successful conclusion will enable considerable enhanced networks and could lower the cost of data as well as close possible gaps between the haves and the have nots.
On climate change, it was pleasing to learn that South Africa’s climate targets are now compatible with the international requirement to limit warming to 1,5°.
As expected, COVID-19, its impact on the economy and society and the successes in combating the pandemic to the point that there is an intention by Government to lift the State of Disaster, again received considerable attention, especially the role of the vaccination program. As a stout vaccination supporter, NAPTOSA was pleased to hear the President, even in a personal testimony, give credence to the role that vaccinations played in saving the lives of many people.
In closing his address to the nation, the President called on all stakeholders to forge a consensus to unite behind a shared determination to reform and rebuild our country. The President can count on NAPTOSA.
by admin | Feb 11, 2022 | NEWSROOM
Unlike 2020 and 2021 we have a positive start to the 2022 school year with the announcement by Cabinet on 31 January 2022 that changes to Adjusted Alert Level 1 of the COVID-19 regulations have been approved, inter alia the resumption of schooling to fulltime learning in all schools.
NAPTOSA has for a considerable time been agitating for the return to school of all learners on a daily basis and the discontinuation of rotational school attendance in order to arrest the further loss of teaching time. We therefore welcome the decision of Cabinet.
To accommodate the overcrowding pressures experienced by many schools, Cabinet’s decision is accompanied by a total relaxation of the 1-meter social distancing requirement in schools. Whilst this is an inevitable consequence of a full return to schooling, it does not mean that there should be a let up on maintaining the other essential elements of the non-pharmaceutical COVID prevention measures. The compulsory wearing of mask and the sanitation regimes need to still be strictly adhered to by staff and learners in schools.
We, however, caution the Department of Basic Education (DBE) not to allow the social distancing relaxation to now rest on their laurels in urgently addressing the issue of overcrowding in schools. The Department has already missed an opportunity during the pandemic period to tackle this grave problem. If the Department was able, in a short space of time at the start of the pandemic, to provide water infrastructure (albeit water tanks in many instances) to school that did not have these facilities, they surely could have done something during the last 2 years to alleviate the overcrowding of schools. What is needed is a constructive plan from the DBE going forward and the Department can be sure that NAPTOSA will be there to constantly remind them of their obligation in this regard.
We can ill afford to return to a situation where schooling is again disrupted due to a resurgence of infections because of overcrowding in schools and the non-adherence to the COVID protocols.
The disruptions in schooling the past two years have had a serious impact on school attendance. It is therefore imperative that, as we return to a pre-pandemic schooling system, all role players in education work together to re-inculcate the culture of regular school attendance as a primary priority.
NAPTOSA fully supports catch-up programmes to make up for the loss of teaching time, but believes that not all elements of the curriculum lost during the pandemic period were necessarily calamitous. It has caused education to focus on the most fundamental elements such as reading, maths and science and this has been positive.
While supporting catch-up programmes, it needs to be balanced with the prevention of teacher burn-out. NAPTOSA believes that in many instances unrealistic expectations have been placed on teachers in regard to catch-up programmes. We will raise this matter when we meet with the Minister tomorrow to discuss the implementation modalities of a return to fulltime learning in all schools.
NAPTOSA’ stance on vaccination (unapologetic pro-vaccination) is well known. We therefore encourage parents of children that fall within the cohort that qualifies to be vaccinated, to ensure that their children do so. Similarly, we call on all education staff to vaccinate. We are seeing arbitration awards coming out of the CCMA finding that employers have not committed an unfair labour practice in requiring employees to be vaccinated.
by admin | Feb 11, 2022 | NEWSROOM
I would like to welcome all NAPTOSA members to the 2022 academic year and wish to extend the best wishes of the NAPTOSA leadership to each and everyone.
In 2021 there were many uncertainties at the beginning of the year. First the late re-opening of schools and then the requirement that all staff, including those on comorbidity concessions, resume their duties. We are proud that our members heeded the call and regardless of all the negative comments, showed up and continued to serve the country’s future leaders to the best of their ability.
The 2022 school year has just started, and we remain concerned about the continued impact of Covid-19 on our education system. It is disturbing that after two years of living with the virus, not much has been done to ensure that we get back to normal schooling. While some schools are able to accommodate a full return of all learners, most, however, are unable to receive their complete cohort on a full-time basis due to infrastructure deficiencies and overcrowding, thus increasing the inequality amongst our learners and in society.
It is NAPTOSA’s position that ALL children should be back at school EVERY day. We call on the Department of Basic Education and the provincial education departments to put measures in place to ensure that this happens as soon as possible but not at the expense of the health and safety of learners and educators. We simply cannot afford a situation where the massive learning losses encountered up to now are perpetuated.
We are painfully aware that to achieve a full return to school, certain concessions will have to be made, but given the trajectory of the virus and the advice of the medical experts this is no longer a choice but an inevitability.
While it is common cause that learning and teaching should happen the moment the learner enters the classroom, many problems, hampering the progress of our learners, are compromising our education system at the start of this year. In Gauteng, some learners had by the first day of school not been placed due to problems experienced with the online system. In the Eastern Cape stationery has not been delivered on time. In KwaZulu Natal there has been a failure to appoint substitute and temporary teachers.
Add to this the damages to schools (as a result of flooding and the unceasing break-inns during school holidays) as well as the actions of certain communities in preventing teachers from entering school premises and it is clear that the education authorities have their work cut out for them.
The NAPTOSA leadership applauds all educators who have received their vaccinations as well as their booster shots (your selfless acts have kept many, as well as yourselves, safer) and appeal to those who have not done so yet, to get
it done as soon as possible. The evidence speaks for itself – post vaccinations, the hospitals are emptier and the death rate lower. Also encourage parents of learners who fall in the qualifying age group to take their children to be vaccinated at their earliest convenience.
Teachers provide the power of education to our youth, thereby giving them the possibility for a better future. As members we subscribe to the NAPTOSA charter of professionalism committing to a code of ethics in which we acknowledge the honour and responsibility entrusted to us as professionals. We commit to upholding the dignity of our chosen profession, engaging in the holistic education of each child in our care and the continuing development of our peers, our communities and ourselves.
Let this be the year of restoring the culture of school attendance, hand in hand with the culture of learning and teaching.
Members should note that the salary saga linked to PSCBC Resolution 1/2018 continues. We are still awaiting an outcome from the Constitutional Court regarding the 2018 salary agreement and the implementation of the last leg in 2020. We are currently in talks with other public service unions and in FEDUSA regarding the 2022 salary increment. We will continue to keep members informed of any new developments.
Nkosipendule Ntantala
President: NAPTOSA
