1

eptember marked the annual Heritage Month in South Africa, when we celebrated our

astonishing diversity and our historical noble heroes who shaped this country for what it is today

see pg 5. The University of Fort Hare has lost one of the highly respected heroes who walked the

path in the fight of our liberation and fair justice, Judge Thembile Skweyiya who passed on, in morn-

ing of the 01st September 2015. This issue is a tribute to him for which we are now left behind to

become the custodians of what he had believed in (read more on pg 2). Our condolences goes out

to all whose lives have been tormented by the loss of their loved ones, find comfort in knowing

that they have left their remarkable footprints in your lives, the footprints that will live for eternity.

With Breast Cancer Awareness Day on the calendar this month, it is a nationwide drive to raise

awareness of this debilitating disease. Let us all join in the fight of breast cancer, educate those who

are unaware, support those who are suffering from it, encourage those who are supporting their

loved ones. Find out about the risk factors on pg 4 especially on career women. According to

www.healthgoverness.com about 90% of patients survive for many years after diagnosis when

breast cancer is detected at the early stages. You may also want to know that breast cancer does

not only affect women, it has also been reported that a high rising number of males are also prone to the disease. Let us do the right thing

and live well.

We’re ending on throwing the spotlight on your positive feedback to our very first Issue of the HR Newsletter, it has surely encouraged us to

spread our wings even further. We highly appreciate the support. Enjoy reading … Wongs!

EDITOR’S NOTE

W E A R E A L L C A P A B L E O F E X C E L L E N C E

isiXhosa

English

isiNdebele Afrikaans

Tshivenda

Xitsonga

Sepedi isiZulu

Sesotho

Sign Language

SiSwati Setswana

OUR HERITAGE - OUR COUNTRY - OUR DIVERSITY

S

2ND ISSUE OCT 2015

HR NEWSLETTERHR NEWSLETTER

2

J

Tributes to the Man who has added an essential constituent to the University of Fort Hare,

a Man who made heroic and selfless contribution to the lives of many .

udge Thembile Skweyiya, one of the country's most well-regarded retired Constitutional Court judges, was laid to rest at a special official

funeral in the Durban City Hall after suffering from a short illness. He passed on, in the morning of 01 September 2015. Judge Skweyiya was

one of the first black advocates in the country , He has been the Chancellor of the University of Fort Hare for several years and at the time

of his passing, Judge Skweyiya was appointed by President Zuma as the Inspector of Correctional Services for a three year term effective

from May 2015.

Our Deputy President Cyril Ramaphosa said, “Justice Skweyiya's role was to ensure that offenders are detained under humane conditions

that they are not deprived of their human dignity and that they are prepared for reintegration back into society. As a human rights lawyer

he was... uniquely suited for the position.”

In a tribute to the late Justice Skweyiya, this is what some of his colleagues and friends had to say about him:

Chief Justice Mogoeng Mogoeng said: “We received news of the passing of former Justice Skweyiya with deep sadness. He served the

nation with great distinction as an anti-apartheid lawyer, human rights activist, Senior Counsel, Judge of the High Court as well as a Justice

of the Constitutional Court of South Africa.”

A statement from the SA Judiciary read: "The late Justice Skweyiya will be missed for his wisdom, humility and passion for human rights,

judicial independence, and a functional constitutional democracy. He was indeed a pleasant person to work with, very considerate and

a peaceable man. His death is a great loss to South Africa and we will miss him."

Judge Skweyiya's soul deserves to rest in eternal peace for he fought a good fight & ran a great race said Adv. Thuli Madonsela she went on

to say “he served the nation with great distinction as an anti-apartheid practitioner, Advocate, Judge of the High Court & Justice of the

ConCourt.”

From all the corners of South Africa and judging by what others had to say about our late Chancellor it is then fitting to say , He was and still

is the Legend. May his soul rest in peace and may his family and loved ones find comfort in these words from the Romans 8: 38-39 “For I

am sure that neither death nor life, nor angels nor rulers, nor things present nor things to come, nor powers, nor height nor depth, nor

anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus our Lord.

By: W Mtembu

T R I B U B E S TO J U D G E T H E M B I L E S K W E Y I YA

3

Employee Relations (ER) , popularly known

also as Labour Relations, we deal essentially

with employees, who, because of their mutual

involvement in the work situation, have been

placed in a specific legal association with the

employer. This work relationship, despite

being legal is also a human one and contains

all elements common to all other relationships

and must be nurtured by mutual interest;

reciprocity of support, understanding trust,

facilitative communication shared goals and

shared values. It is therefore true that work

relationship will falter should one or more

of these qualities be absent.

ER, of course, is multi layered and dynamic,

with change being dependent on the evolving

status, needs, attitudes and perception of the

parties concerned, the employees and

employer.

In these circumstances, UFH HR ER Unit role

and responsibility is primarily to : Pro-actively

and Constructively Manage ER directly and

indirectly

Provide strategic support and advice on ER

Strategies to support the People Management

Strategies.

Develop and Implement ER Training Develop-

ment Programs for HOD/Line managers and

Employees/Union. Facilitate Consultation and

Build sound ER climate & working relation-

ships between UFH and Union(s) and Its em-

ployees

In-conjunction with HR Management Team

work to deliver on People Plans and HR compe-

tence in line with IOP. Facilitate and Manage

all Substantive Negotiation and processes

Implement and manage fair Dispute Resolu-

tion Process and ensuring compliance with

relevant labour legislation.

Represent adequately UFH at CCMA. Instruct

proper appointed Lawyers for Labour court.

Ensure policy and legal compliance-

when processing grievances; DC and incapac-

ity matters. By : Z Mdekazi

SHUT-DOWN PERIOD 2015

The shut-down for 2015 is from the 17

December 2015 until the 31 December

2015. The University will resume on the

4 January 2016. Please take caution that

shut-down period of nine (9) days have

already been automatically on the

system

CANCELLATION OF LEAVE

On web-online, applicants can now apply

for leave cancellation that has been

approved within 30 days after the

approval.

SICK NOTE

All sick notes should be scanned and be

uploaded on the system enclosed with

an application request.

BENEFITS CORNER Q&A

Q: Can I switch my Medical Aid at any time?

A: You can change the medical aid at any time but you will serve the 30 day notice, so that if there are benefits you have used,

medical aid can deduct from funds available. NOTE: Bonitas has no money back benefit however with Discovery, you do get your savings in cash after 4 months of termination.

For Further clarity on Medical Aid, you may contact our 4D Health Corporate Consultant, Ms Siphokazi Citashe on 7547 or email scitashe@ufh.ac.za

EMPLOYEE RELATIONS (ER)

ROLE AND RESPONSIBILITY

PLEASE TAKE NOTE OF THE

FOLLOWING

STRIVING FOR A POSITIVE WORKPLACE

4

O “ n the 09 September 2015 a Wellness day event was held in Alice. The purpose of

the event was to provide screening tests to the university employees so that preventative

measures can be applied. The event was a success as employees came in numbers for

screening purposes and testing for HIV. Valuable information was shared by other service

providers for CCMA, SANCA FAMSA, DCGsa and Old Mutual, and information hand-outs

were handed to employees”

RISK FACTORS

There are a number of causes that

contribute for the occurrence of

breast cancer in a woman. Breast

lesions, genetics, family history and

getting older are known as some of

the less severe and moderate

symptoms of the breast cancer. The

other symptoms like late

menopause, abnormal biopsy of

breast, weight, excessive radiation,

race, alcohol, heritage and early

menstruation are the factors which

sometime cause women to suffer

from cancer.

Source: www.healthgoverness.com

Live a well balanced and

active life

Go for regular check-ups

Keep yourself well informed

and share your knowledge

Support those who need a

hand

5

TO ALL BORN IN THE MONTH OF OCTOBER

The Steve Biko Memorial in Ginsberg, outside

King Williams Town, is dedicated to the

political activist who became the face of Black

Consciousness in South Africa. Murdered in

1977 by security police, his legacy is

maintained by the Steve Biko Foundation. The

Steve Biko Foundation (SBF) has launched a

three-month long campaign in commemora-

tion of Biko’s ideas, his selflessness and deter-

mination to invoke a sense of self-reliance

among Black people. The #BikoMonth2015

campaign started in earnest in the month of

September to commemorate Biko Month as

well as the 38th anniversary of his death in

detention.

At a time when the country was in mourn-

ing for those killed in the Boipatong Massa-

cre of 17 June 1992, the Bisho Massacre

added to the bleak political situation in

South Africa. The massacre took place on 7

September 1992 in Bisho, then the capital

of Ciskei (an independent homeland

or Bantustan), amid tense negotiations be-

tween the African National Congress (ANC)

and the South African government under

President FW de Klerk . Regarding the mas-

sacre, Nelson Mandela said "Each one of

the people who lost their lives at Bisho yes-

terday, 7th September, was a unique hu-

man being. The daughter or the son of

some mother; the father or mother to some

child; a person linked to a home, to a com-

munity of relatives and friends who had

loved, cherished and nurtured her or him

for many years in the hope of a continuing

and shared future."

Sarah Baartman, displayed as a freak

because of her unusual physical features,

was finally laid to rest 187 years after she left

Cape Town for London. Her remains were

buried on Women’s Day, 9 August 2002, in

the area of her birth, the Gamtoos River

Valley in the Eastern Cape. Her grave has

since been declared a national heritage site

Read more: http://www.southafrica.info

NCENGWA SD, MBETE JM, SIMANDLA L, NTSHONA MV, XEKE T P, DLOKO N,MFEYA PP, MKONQO TJ HLAKANYANA SLU, NDLELA HP, XOSEKA M S,

TABALAZA AM,MANGCAKA S,DLEMNYANGO KK ,BALISO MR, HOHO LC, RASHE RZ, LUBISI-NKOANE N, MLISA SA, BALOYI MS, NDINDWA T, KACHERE W,

TERZOLI A, OKOH A I, GCILITSHANA O, MCAKO T, DU PLESSIS AJE, NDEGE JO, OKEYO DO, MDAKA VN, KAPINGURA FM, LANDZELA B, VOKWANA S L,

POTGIETER DR, TIMBELA Z, FOKO PA, MTSHEMLA S, YEKELA TL, GCILITSHANA M, NOVEMBER L, RUNGANATHAN A, MADIKAZI M, VUSANI LM,

RAMATSEKISA TG, FELTHAM-KING TJ, SATYO N P, MARANGE CS, MQASHANE VR,COLOGU N, SHIBA K, MAXAKATO P, ROY IJ, ABONGDIA JFA, WAYI N,

MAKELENI NX, BREETZKE T

The Heritage Day encourages to celebrate our diversity of our beliefs, traditions and historical events as a country. We

dedicate this section in commemoration of Steve Biko, Saartjie/Sarah Baartman and the Bisho Massacre

O U R H E R I TA G E — O U R C O U N T RY — O U R D I V E R S I T Y