University refuses to recognise union

About 100 workers at Rhodes University began a strike on 10 August 2021 after the institution failed to recognise their union, the National Union of Public Service and Allied Workers (NUPSAW). As well as calling for union recognition, workers were protesting at the lack of promotions and career development.
NUPSAW had approached the university on 29 April seeking recognition, including the right to organise and recruit members and hold meetings on campus.
When asked why the university would not recognise the union, its senior communications officer said NUPSAW was not sufficiently representative and did not qualify for the organisational rights afforded to the National Health and Allied Workers Union (NEHAWU), and Tertiary Education Union (NTEU).
South Africa’s Labour Relations Act does not prescribe the percentage of members a union needs to be “sufficiently representative”, nor does it allow employers to simply reject unions. Instead, it says that if a registered union applies for organisational rights, the employer must meet with the union within 30 days and “endeavour to conclude a collective agreement”. If an employer refuses to recognise a union, then an arbitrator will make a binding ruling on whether the union should be recognised or not.
NUPSAW field worker Siviwe Twani said the union has more than 160 members at the university, about 10 per cent of the total workforce, while NUPSAW provincial organiser Lerato Thethe said union leaders tried to meet with vice chancellor Sizwe Mabizela, but his assistant said his “diary was full”.
When the university received notice from NUPSAW regarding their intention to take industrial action, it informed staff that participation in the strike would be on the basis of the “no work no pay” rule. Rhodes University also issued a cease-and-desist letter to NUPSAW and provincial leader Lerato Thethe for unlawful picketing on Rhodes University’s campus.