3.5% vs 7%: UCT support staff strike over wages and unfair treatment claims

“We have been fighting with the university for better pay for years. This time around, they have deliberately made it clear that they are not willing to listen to us; they are offering us a 3.5% increase, which we are rejecting, while they offer academic staff 6.5%, which is ridiculous. Universities are meant to bring a change... if it cannot effect change, what is the point of a university?” said Thabisa Penze, a Professional, Administrative and Support Staff (Pass) member who joined the strike.

This comes after Pass staff represented by the unions, including the National Education, Health and Allied Workers Union (Nehawu), the Democratised Transport Logistics and Allied Workers Union (Detawu), and the University of Cape Town’s Employees Union, gathered at the University of Cape Town’s (UCT’s) Sarah Baartman Hall, early on Thursday, 26 February 2026.

In large numbers, the staff sang Struggle songs, danced and showed their frustration by marching to the Bremner Building to serve UCT Vice-Chancellor, Professor Mosa Moshabela, a memorandum demanding wage increases above the 3.5% proposed by UCT to 7%, better treatment similar to that of academic staff, and a better promotion framework.

Daily Maverick spoke to Nehawu’s branch organiser, Paul Gaika, who said they had tried to speak with UCT management, but there was no agreement over wage disputes.

“Workers demanded 10%, and they went down to try and get management’s consideration of their demand, from 10 to 7%, but management have moved from 2.8 to 3.5%, and they are stuck on that, so we could not reach an agreement up to a point where workers said, ‘We must then apply for a certificate to legally go on strike,’” said Gaika.

In the union’s joint statement, they say: “Remuneration – it is also our intention to show management that we do have the power to bring this institution to a standstill and collapse all operations. We have been undermined and ignored for so long that our demands have been ignored because they think we are too weak to take any action,” read the statement.

Daily Maverick spoke to an Employees Union organiser, Fabian Botman, who said the strike involved not only issues of salary, but also staff treatment.

“Because there are these two systems, which are the academics and us, Pass staff, academics have signed the 3.5% offering... Our argument is, if you look at a 3.5% increase in terms of what academics are earning and what a 3.5% increase is for a cleaner’s earnings, it’s a massive gap.

In the statement, the unions say that UCT’s pay philosophy places academic staff at roughly the 75th market percentile, while Pass staff are set at around the 60th.

“From the outset, Pass roles are positioned below comparable market rates, while academics are paid well above the median... Unions formally demanded an allowance of R1,500 per month for Pass staff required to perform deep cleaning duties.

“This demand was rejected by management. Instead of addressing the matter through internal engagement, management opted to outsource the function to private companies, at a cost of approximately R5,600 per employee, significantly more than the amount sought by unions on behalf of staff,” read the statement. Other demands included a review of long service awards, the acting allowance policy, and the night shift policy.

At the Bremner Building, Daily Maverick spoke to Pass staff member Naledi Hlalukana, who said they shared the same sentiments as Botman.

“This is so unfair. Lecturers get more, and we are disgruntled about this. I have been here since 2020, and at UCT they are using apartheid laws where academics are treated higher than us as staff. Last week, students were protesting, and their issues were resolved, but with us they are not willing to do that,” said Hlalukana.

VC accepts letter of demand

Workers demanded to meet the Moshabela, who came out to accept the letter of demands from the staff. Speaking in front of the disgruntled crowd at the Bremner Building, Moshabela said that he valued the staff members and respected them in the call for better wages. He said that the systems in place were inherited and that he would engage with the unions within 48 hours, as set out in their demands.

“We may inherit the systems that are here, the classification of staff in terms of academics, in terms of pass; we may inherit all of these things. But if these things are a concern for you, what I want to do is to invite you to talk about it.

“What’s important is that we know that we will not be able to serve our students, we will not be able to serve our researchers, and we will not be able to serve our stakeholders if any of you are not in their role. Your function exists for a reason; it doesn’t matter whether you are in an executive position, whether you are a dean, whether you are a director, or whether you are cleaning our gardens, grounds or floors – everyone matters,” said Moshabela, trying to calm the crowd.

He added: “Negotiations are important. I take this engagement that we are having; I take the action that you are taking, that you want us to take seriously your demands, which is why I’m going to sign this (memorandum), but it does not necessarily mean that we are fighting or that we are in conflict,” said Moshabela.

The strike comes after students protested for days, demanding to be allowed to register for academic study despite issues with the fee block.

Read more: UCT registration disrupted as students demand end to fee blocks

A meeting is expected to be held today in which the management will engage with the unions to discuss a way forward. DM