Sactwu pays out R50m in Busaries 13-08-07

 

SACTWU PAYS OUT R50 MILLION IN BURSARIES

The Southern African Clothing & Textile Workers' Union (SACTWU) has to date paid out R50 million in bursaries to thousands of young South Africans from working class families, reported Ebrahim Patel, the union's General Secretary, at its 10th National Congress which concluded on Saturday 11 August 2007. "This has allowed students from working class back grounds to gain university degrees and build a better life for themselves and it has injected important skills into the economy," said Mr Patel.

The SACTWU Bursary Fund was started in 1975 with a small solidarity contribution by trade union members to help support each other to meet the education expenditure of their children. This tradition continues today and funds are now made up of contributions from workers, by companies and funds generated through the union's investment company.

Over the years, the bursary payouts have increased significantly from R100 per bursary at inception to R10 000 per bursary today. In 2006, the union sponsored 1 130 students and spent R4.5 million for their bursaries. About 83% of these students are at universities and universities of technology, 8% are at colleges and 9% at technikons.

The union has now completed its audit of 2006 graduates of SACTWU bursars. In 2006, a total of 152 SACTWU bursars graduated (70 with degrees and 82 with diplomas). Among these graduates is a medical doctor, 9 accountants, 7 lawyers, 14 engineers, 5 economists, and a pharmacist. The full list is as follows:

The degree graduates were in the following fields or occupations (number of graduates in brackets):

Managers (10); accountants (9); lawyers (7); economists (5); psychologists (5); electrical engineers (3); social worker (3); teacher/educator (3); bio medical technician (2); biochemist (1); biokineticist (1); biologist (1); medical doctor (1); chemical engineer (1); pharmacist (1); actress (1); anthropologist (1); architect (1); community development officer (1); dietician (1); environmentalist (1); film producer (1); information technology specialist (1); mechanical engineer (1); microbiologist (1); occupational therapist (1); physiotherapist (1); property evaluator (1);.

The diploma graduates were in the following fields or occupations (number of graduates in brackets):

Accounting (11); agriculture (1); biomedical technology (1); business management (1); chemical engineering (3); civil engineering (1); electrical engineering (3); health & environment (3); horticulture (1); food technology (1); graphic/jewelry designer (3); human resources (4); information technologist (11); journalism/multimedia (3); librarian (1); marketing & retail management (8); mechanical engineering (2); office and secretarial administration (3); production manager (2); public management (2); public relations officer (3); somatologist (1); sports manager (2); travel & tourism (3).

The SACTWU bursary scheme is the biggest bursary scheme of its kind in the South African trade union movement and one of the biggest trade union-run bursary schemes anywhere in the world.

Issued by

Andre Kriel
SACTWU
Deputy General Secretary

If further information is required, kindly contact Andre Kriel on (021) 447 4570.