University of Cape Town staff strike over fair pay and inequality

Professional, administrative and support staff at the University of Cape Town (UCT) have embarked on protected strike action after salary negotiations between unions and management reached a deadlock.

The recognised unions representing Professional, Administrative and Support Staff (PASS) said they obtained a certificate of non-resolution from the Commission for Conciliation, Mediation and Arbitration (CCMA), allowing them to proceed with strike action in terms of the Labour Relations Act. They stressed that the current strike relates specifically to outstanding salary negotiations.

At the centre of the dispute are union claims that UCT’s pay structure positions academic staff at approximately the 75th market percentile, while PASS staff are positioned at around the 60th percentile. The unions argue that this approach structurally disadvantages support staff and entrenches income disparities within the institution.

“PASS staff are systematically undervalued by design, not by accident,” the unions said in a joint statement. “Equal percentages do not produce equal outcomes they protect high earners and widen the gap.”

UCT spokesperson Elijah Moholola rejected the suggestion that the benchmarking approach is unfair, saying the university uses RemChannel, a national salary benchmarking and remuneration survey system, to guide adjustments.

Through RemChannel, Moholola said, academics are benchmarked against a comparator group within Higher Education South Africa (HESA), rather than the national all-jobs market, because recruitment and retention occur within the higher education sector.

“For the Professional, Administrative and Support Service (PASS) staff, salaries are benchmarked against the national all jobs market because we recruit or lose talent to all sectors, including corporate, rather than to only universities,” Moholola said.

He confirmed that UCT’s prevailing pay policy adjusts salaries annually using RemChannel data to ensure alignment at the 75th percentile for academic staff and the 60th percentile of national jobs market data for PASS staff.

“It is worth noting that salaries of PASS staff within the bargaining unit (pay classes 1–12) are above the 60th percentile RemChannel benchmark except pay class 5,” he said.

Salaries are also adjusted in line with the Consumer Price Index (CPI). Moholola said the reference CPI in July 2025 was 3.5%, and the executive proposed a 3.5% increase for 2026 salary adjustments, which was implemented in February 2026 and backdated to January.

Responding to claims that uniform percentage increases disproportionately benefit higher earners, Moholola said 2026 salary adjustments were not implemented uniformly.

“The university reviews RemChannel data annually as part of the salary increase exercise, and adjustments are made where staff categories are lagging behind the market,” he said.

He added that categories identified as lagging behind market data include senior lecturers, associate professors and full professors on the academic side, and pay class 5 on the PASS side. These groups would receive additional adjustments in 2026.

While unions have raised broader concerns about hybrid work implementation, performance bonus arrangements and promotion frameworks, Moholola said these matters are not the subject of the current dispute.

On the ongoing strike, he said management had put contingency measures in place to ensure minimal disruption to operations. Staff in essential services are required to comply with the signed Minimum Service Agreement in protective services and primary health care.

“It is unfortunate that the bargaining process has not yielded a resolution to the dispute, and that picketing action has not been averted,” Moholola said. “The executive is currently engaging unions and remains committed to reaching a mutually agreed resolution.”

The executive, he added, regrets any inconvenience experienced by members of the UCT community during the strike period.

The unions maintain they remain ready to resume negotiations in pursuit of what they describe as a fair and sustainable resolution to the salary dispute.

Get your news on the go, click here to join the Cape Argus News WhatsApp channel.

Cape Argus