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\nMtima said the principal was supposed to go back to work at Chubekile High School in KwaZakhele township last week \u2013 but submitted\u00a0a fifth sick note, booking him off until October 2.<\/p>\n
\u201cAfter Ntola was expelled from Sadtu, we wrote a letter to him, informing him of the termination of his secondment,\u201d said Ntima.<\/p>\n
\u201cHe is also supposed to apply for leave when he submits sick notes, but hasn\u2019t done so. We\u2019ve written to him, telling him to utilise HR [human resources] policies, and we\u2019ll give him seven working days to respond. If he doesn\u2019t respond,\u00a0we\u2019re going to adhere to our\u00a0HR policy, which may result in withholding his salary.\u201d<\/p>\n
The Chubekile school governing body was livid that the school had been forced to cope without a principal for more than a year, said the body\u2019s chairperson, Mandla Masusi.<\/p>\n
Masusi said they had written to the provincial education department on numerous occasions, demanding that the MEC, Mandla Makupula, takes decisive action.<\/p>\n
\u201cI thought by now Ntola would have been back doing his job, which is what he\u2019s paid to do. We want\u00a0a principal that works, not one\u00a0that\u2019s always taking sick leave.\u00a0This has gone on for far too long,\u201d Masusi said.<\/p>\n
Political conspiracy \u201cThe education department works closely with unions and whoever\u00a0is being persecuted by unions,\u00a0they actually follow the same\u00a0example. It is like that everywhere in the country.<\/p>\n \u201cThis is politically motivated and there has always been a political agenda involved.<\/p>\n \u201cWhy is Ntola being chased for being sick only for a month while we have teachers who have been sick for years? Is Ntola not supposed to be sick? I am a teacher and not a doctor. I go to a doctor and a doctor tells me I am sick and can\u2019t work,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n AmaBhungane has come across media reports of at least five worker events Ntola has addressed or led since leaving Sadtu:<\/p>\n He was seen in Vavi\u2019s company at a union court case in Johannesburg earlier this year.<\/p>\n ‘I am not mentally sick’ His illness had only started this year, he added. \u201cI am not mentally sick, so I can go and preach in church or attend an ANC meeting, where I can stay and address people when I am asked.\u201d<\/p>\n He said he remembered being at the Mdantsane rally with Vavi,\u00a0\u201cbut that was on a Saturday.\u00a0My leave does not include Saturday and I am not quarantined in bed. The most important thing here is that\u00a0I\u2019m sick and there\u2019s a doctor\u2019s note proving that.<\/p>\n \u201cEven now, I went to the school and submitted a sick note because applying for sick leave without a sick note would be pointless,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n At last year\u2019s Sapsu launch, Ntola punted his new \u201csuper-union\u201d as the saviour of government workers. A Sapsu statement said that the aim was to form \u201ca gigantic workers\u2019-controlled union that is a dynamic, independent and nonaligned organisation of public service workers and related fields\u201d.<\/p>\n \u201cWe must fight corruption, maladministration and nepotism, thereby ensuring that dedicated staff and managers are appointed and are in the right place to render quality service to members of the public, that they are happy and welcoming clients to their well-equipped and clean workplaces where they render service,\u201d the statement said.<\/p>\n Sapsu not a ‘genuine trade union’ The first application was declined on January 21 last year. This was followed by further refusals on March 4 and 29 this year.<\/p>\n The Act states that a union cannot be registered with the department unless it proves that it is an association of employees whose principal purpose is to regulate relations between employees and employers.<\/p>\n In applying for registration, the applicant has to indicate the number of founding members with their places of work.<\/p>\n Ntola said he did not know the union is unregistered.<\/p>\n * Got a tip-off for us about this story? Email [email\u00a0protected]<\/a><\/em><\/p>\n
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\nResponding, Ntola said there was a political conspiracy against him. Scores of teachers have been off sick for up to two years and were never questioned about it, he said.<\/p>\n\n
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\nAsked to comment, Ntola did not deny being present at the events. As far as last year\u2019s meetings are concerned, he said he had only discovered this year that he is no longer seconded to Sadtu.<\/p>\n
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\nBut the labour department\u2019s registrar, Johan Crouse, said that Sapsu has been refused registration on three occasions on the grounds that \u201cit is not deemed to be a genuine trade union as required by the Labour Relations Act\u201d.<\/p>\n
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