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The Star reports that according to the National Economic Development and Labour Council (Nedlac), the agreement reached between trade union Solidarity and the Department of Basic Education (DBE) Minister in respect of the Basic Education Laws Amendment Act (BELA) is only binding on those parties.
While the Act was passed by Parliament in October 2023, and assented to in September, the implementation of sections 4 and 5 have been delayed by three months to allow for multi-party discussions and proposals on resolving the disputes. Lisa Seftel, Nedlac executive director, advised that the agreement reached by Solidarity and the DBE was binding, but only on the parties which signed it. “The agreement does not bind the parliamentary process, or the GNU (Government of National Unity) process or the president, or the clearing house, or the deputy president, or anybody else for that matter. It is an agreement between Solidarity and the minister of Basic Education (Siviwe Gwarube) about the issues that she should raise with the president as a solution to this matter,” Seftel explained. She added that Nedlac’s understanding was that the agreement reached at the council would be used as input into the ongoing GNU process seeking an amicable solution on the matter. Over the weekend, Ramaphosa said the Act would commence if the deadline of 13 December arrived without an amicable solution. “In the end, as the president I signed the bill and I have given three months for solutions to be found. Those solutions have to be credible, and they have to be solutions that everyone buys into,” Ramaphosa indicated. Seftel advised that the Presidency had participated in the Nedlac engagements leading to the agreement between the DBE and Solidarity.
- Read the full original of the report in the above regard by Jonisayi Maromo at The Star
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