CITY PRESS ON WAR PATH TO DEMONISE SADTU

11 July 2015

The City Press newspaper is on a warpath to demonise SADTU. Their latest salvo, which is due to be published tomorrow, is a baseless report that SADTU has issued an instruction to the South African Council for Educators (SACE) to stop an independent investigation into the cash for jobs scam (see here).

The writer Sipho Masondo is on a project to propel his profession to become an award winning journalist at our expense. If his stories were true, why didn’t the other media houses run with and explore them further? We cannot allow the name of the Union to be used by novice journalists to gain professional glory.

In May last year the National Working Committee of SADTU issued a statement whereby we stated that we had approached SACE, as the custodian of the teaching profession and the Education Labour Relations (ELRC) which is responsible for the condition of employment and for the promotion of labour peace, to conduct investigations on jobs for scam reports, jointly or independently.

We asked these bodies to investigate these reports not to protect SADTU but out of the respect we have of them and the teaching profession. No one, including SADTU can issue instructions to SACE to stop its investigation.

The timing of the release of this story also leaves a lot to be desired. Is this about the headlines before COSATU’s special congress? We are going to the Congress well prepared to unite the Federation no matter what City Press headlines say. We are more determined to defend our democracy and freedom against those who seek regime change and plunge this country into chaos.

Statement issued by SADTU, July 11 2015