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30 October 2019 | Story Ruan Bruwer | Photo Sonia Small
Springboks
Prof Francis Petersen, UFS Rector and Vice-Chancellor, paid a special visit to the Springboks in 2018 before they faced England in Bloemfontein. From the left are Jacques Nienaber (Springbok assistant coach), Oupa Mohoje (Springbok), Prof Petersen, Rassie Erasmus (Springbok head coach), and Swys de Bruin (Springbok consultant coach at the time). De Bruin, Erasmus, Nienaber, and Mohoje are all Kovsie alumni.

Like the rest of the country, we are behind our Springboks all the way. This is what Prof Francis Petersen, Rector and Vice-Chancellor of the University of the Free State (UFS), told alumnus Rassie Erasmus in a letter this week.

Prof Petersen wrote the letter to Erasmus, the head coach of the Springboks, to wish him everything of the best in the team’s preparation and for the game on Saturday (2 November 2019) at which they face England in the Rugby World Cup final in Japan.

"On behalf of the staff and students of the University of the Free State, I would like to wish you and the Springbok team all the best with your preparations this week and for the final. I know that Saturday’s match will be played with vigour and determination,” Prof Petersen wrote.

Prof Petersen said the UFS community was extremely proud of the Springboks’ achievements during the 2019 Rugby World Cup – especially with Erasmus at the helm of the team. The Boks defeated Japan in the quarter-final and Wales in the semi-final to reach their first final since 2007.

“As a former Shimla player and Kovsie Alumnus of the Year 1998, we are truly proud of what you have achieved during your career in South African rugby, and especially during the World Cup tournament. We are also proud of our other alumni – Jacques Nienaber as defence coach, and referee Jaco Peyper.”

Peyper refereed one of the quarter-finals and will be an assistant referee in the bronze medal play-off between New Zealand and Wales on 1 November 2019.

Under Erasmus the Springboks won the Rugby Championship this year, the first time since 2010. Erasmus and Nienaber have a long relationship. They met in the army in 1991. Later Nienaber served as physiotherapist with the Shimlas and Erasmus captained the team. They worked together at the Cheetahs, Cats, Stormers, Munster and now the Springboks.

News Archive

UFS staff get salary adjustment of 8,5%
2010-11-03

The University of the Free State’s (UFS) management and trade unions have agreed on a general salary adjustment of 8,5% for 2011. The negotiating parties agreed that adjustments could vary proportionally from a minimum of 7,5% to a maximum of 9,5%, depending on the government subsidy and the model forecasts.

 The service benefits of staff will be adjusted to 10,66% for 2011. This is according to the estimated government subsidy that will be received in 2011.

 The agreement was signed on Friday, 29 October 2010 by representatives of the UFS Management and the trade unions UVPERSU and NEHAWU.

An additional once-off, non-pensionable bonus of R3 000 will also be paid to staff with their December 2010 salary payment. The bonus will be paid to all staff members who were in the employment of the university on UFS conditions of service on 31 December 2010 and who assumed duties before 1 October 2010. The bonus is payable in recognition of the role played by staff during the year to promote the UFS as a university of excellence and as confirmation of the role and effectiveness of the remuneration model.

 It is the intention to pass the maximum benefit possible on to staff without exceeding the limits of financial sustainability of the institution. For this reason, the negotiating parties reaffirmed their commitment to the Multiple-year, Income-related Remuneration Improvement Model used as a framework for negotiations. The model and its applications are unique and have as a point of departure that the UFS must be and remains financially sustainable.

Agreement was reached that 2% will be allocated for growth in capacity building to ensure that provision is made for the growth of the UFS over the last few years. A further 0,16% will be allocated to structural adjustments.

 The implementation date for the salary adjustment is 1 January 2011. The adjustment will be calculated on the total remuneration package.

Prof. Johan Grobbelaar, Chairperson of the UVPERSU and NEHAWU mutual forum, is very pleased with the outcome and good spirit in which the negotiations, “that were concluded in a couple of hours”, took place. The 8,5% increase for 2011 means that for the past ten years the UFS staff has received a 38% increase above inflation in effect. 

 “Not only is this a major achievement in that the staff is much better off, but the salaries compare well with similar institutions in the country,” says Prof. Grobbelaar.

  It is also with nostalgia that the negotiations took place this year, because Prof. Grobbelaar and Prof. Niel Viljoen, Vice-Rector: Operations, both retire in 2011.  Prof. Viljoen was the chairperson of the UFS Council’s negotiation team for the past ten years.

  Media Release
 
Issued by: Lacea Loader
Director: Strategic Communication (actg)
Tel: 051 401 2584
Cell: 083 645 2454
E-mail: loaderl@ufs.ac.za
  3 November 2010
 

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