16 October 2018 | Volume 77 | Edition 10
Food vendors sign two-year contracts The Cissy Gool food vendors have signed a two-year contract after weeks of uncertainty By Tessa Knight The Cissy Gool food vendors have signed a new two-year lease with the university. Following weeks of uncertainty, and a continuous lack of communication, the vendors were o�ered two-year leases on Thursday of last week. In previous years the vendors were given five-year leases, which were then shortened to four years. For the last three years, the handful of vendors have been forced to sign contracts that would last just 12 months, with a stipulation that the university would only have to give them two months notice to vacate the premises. Owners of the six cafeteria food stalls contacted VARSITY after rumours circulated claiming that the vendors would be asked to leave campus at the end of November, when students would have gone home. This would give the campus food veterans until January, when there are very few students on campus, to petition for their cause. A document leaked to VARSITY by an anonymous source highlighted the university’s plan to phase out independent food vendors, and replace the Cissy Gool cafeteria with UCT-owned food stalls similar to the new Food & Connect store. The document outlined a two-year plan that would eventually see all food stores taken over by UCT Food Co. Phase 1 involved the removal of Big Chef stalls on campus, replacing them with stalls owned and operated by UCT.
They’re not actually interested in students’ safety One of the points highlighted in the document involves food safety and sanitation. According to the current Cissy Gool food vendors, in the past the university would provide two weeks notice before initiated an unscheduled safety audit. All of the food stalls would be audited and given a grade. Failing could result in a forced
Image by Aaliyah Ahmed
termination. When speaking to the vendors, many of them agreed that this was fair – ensuring that their food is safe and healthy to consume was of high importance to all of the storeowners. However, according to the vendors, UCT has not conducted either of the biannual food safety audits. “They’re not actually interested in students’ safety,” stated one of the vendors when speaking on the topic of food safety audits. “They just want to make money.” VARSITY has recently learned that UCT intends on auditing the vendors towards the end of this month. With the removal of Big Chef earlier this year, it is clear that UCT pushed forward with phase 1 of their plan. However, it is unclear whether the university has simply postponed the
plan to remove the current food vendors for another two years, or whether the plan has been scrapped entirely. VARSITY attempted to communicate with Fawaz Mustapha, the Director of Commercial Development at UCT, on multiple occasions. Mustapha repeatedly ignored and side-stepped VARSITY’s requests for information, communication, and transparency. When VARSITY attempted to phone Mustapha, it was discovered he had gone on holiday during the time he was expected to be in communication with the vendors. He did not respond to VARSITY’s last email communication. While the fact that the current food vendors have been o�ered a new contract is promising, the food vendors hinted that UCT could have handled the matter with more
finesse. When contacting the UCT law department asking for potential legal advice, the vendors were told that they couldn’t be given legal advice as it would be a conflict of interest for the legal department. They were turned away.
There is little recourse available to independent contractors on UCT campuses It seems that there is little recourse available to independent contractors on UCT campuses. While the current situation took a positive turn, the university’s lack of communication leaves much to be desired.