Students with outstanding fees will not be deregistered
Fees office confirms that payment options are put into place, and no students will be deregistered. (more…)
Who’s going to Pikitup
City of Johannesburg has taken to private services to clean the city. (more…)
Wits protests on pause–for now
Wits student protests against fees and outsourcing workers that broke out today, have come to a standstill.
Social science students vote for transformation
A new student council has been voted into The School of Social Sciences and are acting for managerial transformation in the faculty.
LET’S TRANSFORM: Electoral groups are looking to transform management in The School of Social Sciences Photo: File
Wits computer labs ‘not maintained’
Students are frustrated by the poor maintenance and monitoring at CNS labs on campus.
(more…)
DASO campaigns for student accommodation
DASO campaigns for private student accommodation, and challenges private entities to reveal their pricing policy through petitions.
UPDATED: Wits food vendor workers protest
STRIKE: Workers and students protesting against alleged exploitation by franchise owners Photo: Nasya Smith
UPDATED: Protesting workers from food franchises at Wits have met with their bosses to give their demands and will go back to work as they await a response next week.
“We have pitched our needs, demands and grievances to our bosses and we are waiting for responses and resolutions by next week Thursday,” said Thandiswa Yaphi, a protest leader and worker at Sizzlers.
Nicholas Matthes, a member of Wits Services, had helped facilitate Friday afternoon’s meeting and said the issues were sensitive with “many contributing factors.”
By Nasya Smith, Aarti Bhana and Leanne Cumming
Workers from food franchises on campus launched a lunchtime protest in the Matrix on Friday complaining that their working conditions are exploitative.
The singing and dancing workers were soon joined by some students during the protest as they forced the closure of Matrix shops.
Thandiswa Yaphi, who works at Sizzlers and is one of the protest leaders, said that some of the workers have been employed by food franchises on campus for over fifteen years but still do not have a contract. Some of the workers that do have contracts, allegedly have to adhere to strict bathroom times and still receive a wage below the legal minimum wage.
Yaphi said that the Labour department is not assisting them in dealing with their problems.
The protesting workers are also unhappy that they were not included in an insourcing agreement with Wits workers that topped-up salaries to a minimum of R4,500.
Akies Berdanis, owner of Zesty Lemonz, said that all food franchises on campus operate independently from the university and his employee’s pay is the same as in any other Zesty Lemonz franchise. Berdanis admitted that not all franchises on campus were aligned with regulations of the Bargaining Council, an association of staff and employers, last year but apparently most have “come to the party” since then.
When asked about the bathroom regulations, Berdanis said that the franchises merely ask if employees could avoid going to the bathroom during busy hours, but says “we are human, if you have to go you have to go”.
The protests are continuing and the workers are currently having a meeting to discuss the way forward.
About WCJ
We Should Be Writing podcast
- Bonus Episode: There's a Zille on my stoepSince her announcement as the Democratic Alliance’s mayoral candidate for Johannesburg, Helen Zille has dominated national headlines. In this bonus episode of We Should Be Writing podcast, hosts Lulah Mapiye and Bonolo Mokonoto dissect a media meet-and-greet with the mayoral hopeful. From her extensive political résumé to her controversial public utterance, we examine why the Democratic Alliance has chosen Hellen Zille as their candidate for the 2027 local mayoral elections. Additionally, […]