Today's Labour News

Sunday World reports that the staff of Unisa Enterprise, a commercial wing of the University of SA (Unisa), have not been paid salaries for September. But this is only the tip of the iceberg. 

Staff further claim their salary payments have been delayed every month from May to July, but even then, those payments were slashed by half. More than 20 staff members tasked with generating millions for Unisa through commercial business have complained to the Unisa management committee regarding their plight. In a letter signed by senior officials of Unisa Enterprise such as the senior HR manager Kelebogile Ramasika, the affected staff members expressed their collective concern over their salaries not being paid, delayed or halved. The staff stated that the management of Unisa Enterprise has been made aware of the potential crisis since October 2024.

The officials wrote that in May, that only junior staff were paid on time, while the managers were paid late. They said that the worst thing as that the communication on salary delays was only done on payday. CEO of Unisa Enterprise, Lesetsa Matshekga, confirmed that the company has experienced challenges in paying salaries on time and was facing financial issues. He said the executive was communicating with the Unisa council for a solution. However, insiders at Unisa stated that the problem was bigger than the salaries owed to the staff and pointed out that Unisa Enterprise was struggling to generate income from its commercial projects, as some of its biggest clients were no longer interested in working with them, while others had failed to settle their accounts.

• Read the full original of the report in the above regard by Bongani Mdakane on page 10 of Sunday World of 12 October 2025

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