Salary Standoff: Striking UCT staff reaches agreement with university

University of cape town employees have secured a 3.5‑percent salary increase following negotiations with university management.

Many of the university’s professional, administrative and support services staff had embarked on strike action on Thursday, demanding a 7% wage hike.

Various unions representing the workers met with university management yesterday in an effort to resolve the dispute.

One of the unions’ representatives Fabian Botman said the parties have now reached consensus, with workers also set to receive a once‑off bonus in the coming month.

"In addition to the salary-related matters, several important non-salary commitments were secured through the engagement process around the annual year-end closure period, agreements on how the strike period would be managed without direct salary deductions, and a commitment from management to review and investigate concerns relating to unusual expenditures and associated costs," said Botman.

Botman has however expressed disappointment that the initial 7% demand was not fully met.

"While we are disappointed that we did not fully reach our initial salary goal, we are proud of the unity and commitment shown by our members throughout the strike process," said Botman