Mr Speaker, once again, shockingly, teachers belonging to the SA Democratic Teachers' Union, Sadtu, are threatening to strike in the middle of the matriculation examinations.
Sadtu wants 53 000 Eastern Cape teachers to strike as from Friday. They demand that the provincial education department reinstate about 4 000 temporary teachers whose contracts were terminated last year. Sadtu also claims that the department failed to consult them over the number of teaching posts the department will fund next year.
Almost every year now, Mr Speaker, teachers aligned to Sadtu find some or other excuse to disrupt examinations and put the learners' futures in jeopardy. Teachers should respect the rights of learners to education. Teachers should also demand that their union, Sadtu, realise that every teacher has the right to uninterrupted teaching, especially during exam times.
It is only a matter of weeks before all schools close and learners begin their annual holidays. Why must the strike be called now? Is it only to punish innocent learners, or pure blackmail?
The IFP strongly condemns the actions of Sadtu. We call on the Department of Basic Education to demand that teachers put a stop to disrupting schools during examinations. It is time that "the Blade" did something. [Applause.]