Broke Unisa Enterprise fails to pay its staff

University washes hands of entity 'not managed effectively'

- By Bongani Mdakane

The staff of Unisa Enterprise, a commercial wing of the University of South Africa (Unisa), have not been paid salaries for September.

But this is only the tip of the iceberg, as 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, which includes enterprise supplier development, media advisory services, ICT, research, innovation and catering services, have complained to the Unisa management committee regarding their plight.

In a letter we have seen, which was signed by the Unisa Enterprise senior officials, such as the senior HR manager Kelebogile Ramasika, business development manager Lerato Mothiba, media advisory unit head of department Zylvah Makola, and the entity’s supplier development coordinator Lorraine Lamola, the officials stated, on behalf of the affected staff members, their collective concern over their salaries not being paid, delayed or halved.

“We, the undersigned of Unisa Enterprise, a subsidiary of Unisa, write to express our collective concern regarding the recurring delays in salary payments over the past three months.

“These delays have caused significant financial strain on employees and are negatively impacting staff morale, motivation and overall performance,” stated the officials.