The views expressed in this article are those of the individual being interviewed and do not necessarily reflect the views of Her Campus or any of its affiliates.
The University of Cape Town has always been an institution of progression, with students and staff taking protest action when they felt that change was needed (a history of this action can be found here). In 2015, the world was introduced to Rhodes Must Fall, and later Fees Must Fall, student movements aiming to decolonise UCT and diminish academic exclusion by making tertiary education free, allowing families who had been economically restricted by Apartheid’s laws to send their children to university. The movement also stands behind the workers at UCT who are outsourced under poor working conditions and no job security. The Left Students’ Forum has taken an active role in communicating with workers, UCT and the workers’ union to try and initiate action towards insourcing workers, some of whom have been working at the university for 20 years. While there appears to be support from students and staff to insource the people we see every day and have built relationships with, UCT has still not confirmed the fate of these loyal employees.
We spoke to one such person, who wishes to remain anonymous, on what working as an outsourced employee has been like, especially as an employee of Wayne Tzemis who has built a reputation as an unfair employer. Tzemis owns several restaurants at UCT (as well as other tertiary institutions). While Tzemis may be responsible for the dissatisfaction of his employees, UCT is equally responsible for not having a system where workers are protected against independent vendors who might exploit and abuse them.
Our source has worked at UCT for five years, and recalled how Tzemis discouraged workers from joining the union (SALIPSWU), threatening their job security should they go against the interests of the business. Since working for Tzemis five years ago, our source as well as other workers have received no increase in their already barely sufficient salary or employment benefits such as a pension fund, despite some employees having worked for him for 20 years. Tzemis’ staff are labelled as ‘seasonal workers’ as most of them do not work when the university goes on holiday. The staff receive no bonuses at the end of the year, and face the festive season with no income to buy gifts for children or food for family gatherings. Their ‘off-season’ lasts from late November to mid-February when classes resume, leaving many people without a form of income for months. Recently, a document revealing the bonuses received by a few professors at UCT circulated social media. Many were receiving a million Rand or more. When I asked our source what their thoughts on this were, they said that they could not even imagine what having thousands would be like. Staff are allegedly paid the same salary of R870 a week, regardless of if they are a chef or cashier. Some staff have been listed as shareholders, and are paid closer to R1300 a week, but receive no dividends.
According to our source, Tzemis on one occasion told staff that he could not pay them for time worked during a holiday because he did not have the money. When staff took the matter up with the Dean of the faculty their restaurant serves, the Dean was shocked to hear how staff were being treated and promised to speak to Tzemis personally. Two days later, the staff were paid the income they were owed. Due to the increasing outrage from students, staff and workers regarding Tzemis’ alleged treatment of his staff, Tzemis’ contract with UCT has been terminated with no apparent intention to be renewed. While this is a small victory towards the goal of improved working conditions for staff, their employment is no longer guaranteed as staff have not been insourced by UCT. While the union has been negotiating with UCT regarding this, our source says that both parties have known that Tzemis’ contract was ending in July already, and they are still awaiting news of whether they will have employment come next year.
Staff are anxious and expecting the worst when it comes to UCT promising to insource all workers. The promise was made years ago and still hasn’t come to pass for most people. While it is easy to refer to the people involved as ‘workers’, one should remember that these are parents with children, grandparents with families depending on them, and children with siblings and elderly parents to look after. Students often complain about the ‘student life’ and not having much money, but the staff at UCT live the feelings of anxiety about whether they will have food or a home every day. From one bad situation to another, UCT staff come to campus each day with a smile for their customers, remembering to ask us how we are and how our studies are going. They are as a part of UCT as the students.
The least we can do is share and post about the injustices that UCT workers are facing, putting pressure on UCT to stand up and do what is right. Social media has made it easy to write, post and share with the world what is going on at our doorstep, so here is my effort to inform at least one person.