Hazyview Twin College teachers claim unfair dismissal by school's owner
They also claim that the way they were allegedly dismissed was inappropriate, as it reportedly happened in front of the learners.
'The owner came to the school and asked if he could see all the books of the learners, as he wanted to check their performance. After that, he told us that we should leave the school premises; we are fired. If we did not leave, we would be trespassing on his school. We then left, but the worst part is that we left the kids unattended. The kids are still in Grade One and they cannot be left unattended,' they said.
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The distressed teachers also claimed they were not given any warning.
According to the Labour Act, they were supposed to receive a verbal warning and three warning letters before they could be dismissed. 'All those protocols were not followed and our rights were violated. That is why we took the matter to the Commission for Conciliation, Mediation and Arbitration (CCMA) on Friday. The owner then called some of the educators to return to work. Some of us refused to go back because the way he fired us was unlawful and we want the CCMA to deal with him. How will the learners respect us after what they saw him do to us?' they said.
The owner of the school, Lwazi Mhaule, dismissed the allegations. He said he instructed the teachers to go home and do introspection if they still want to be part of the school.
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'I did ask the pupils to bring their books to check their progress, only to find that the learners have had only two classwork assignments since January. That was a clear indication that the teachers are being paid full salary while they are not doing their jobs. It's also a lie that this occurred in front of the learners, because I was talking to the teachers in the staff room. On Friday I told the principal to call the teachers to report for duty, but none of them returned,' he said.
Mhaule also dismissed the claim that the learners had been left unattended. He said after the six teachers left the school, he called other teachers from his sister school to come and assist. 'Teaching and learning were not disrupted. We had teachers who were assisting in teaching. I can also confirm that the door is still open for the teachers to come back, provided they are willing to teach,' he said.
Mhaule said he is aware that he had been reported to CCMA. He said will cross that bridge when he gets to it.
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