Skip to main content

ALAAP AND NAWUSHI IN JOINT STRIKE ACTION AT UNESWA

 

ALAAP AND NAWUSHI JOIN FORCES AT UNESWA INDUSTRIAL ACTION DEMANDING SALARY NOTCHES

 

NAWUSHI AND ALAAP MEMBERS IN ACTION AT UNESWA 

The premier university in the country ,the University of Eswatini (UNESWA) experienced a fully blown strike action on Monday 20th March 2023 when the larger section of its workforce organised in the National Workers Union in Swaziland Higher Institutions (NAWUSHI) joined the legal strike action that was already underway courtesy of their sister union, the Association of Lecturers, Academic And Administrative Personnel (ALAAP). ALAAP had kicked off their strike action on the 8th March 2023.

NAWUSHI was delayed in joining the action by close to two weeks because they were still dealing with the legal preparation for the action, including conducting a ballot of workers who agree to go on strike. The  ballot was eventually conducted on the 15th March 2023 and  results were such that out of a total of  two hundred and fifty five (255) votes that were cast ,two hundred and forty one (241) were in favour of the strike and seven (7) were cast against it.

NAWUSHI subsequently served the UNESWA Management with the notice to commence with the strike action on the 16th March 2023. The notice stated that they would commence with their the strike action, on Monday the 20th March.

Workers grievance

The strike action is as a result of a collective bargaining deadlock between UNESWA and the two unions representing its workforce. UNESWA has chosen to employ hard austerity measures that has seen them refusing to honour notch increases on the salaries of qualifying workers.

Workers usually qualify for notch increases by being paid on a notch where there is still room for pay progress to an upper notch within a pay grade. The practice employed has been that salaries would be adjusted to an upper notch every April. April marks the beginning of the financial year. The movement from a lower to a higher notch increases the salaries roughly by between 1.5% to 3% and its omission for more than one financial year has a major impact on take home pay , particularly in these hard economic times characterised by high prices of basic goods and services in the economy.

The unions are accusing UNESWA for unilaterally ending the notching system citing the its weakened financial muscle and even when engaged in negotiations UNESWA has reportedly been intransigent according to   Secretary General of ALAAP Dr Mduduzi Shongwe (Times of Eswatini, 09March 2023). The workers have essentially been left with no other choice but to engage in a strike action.

Even after the commencement of the ALAAP strike action the UNESWA has maintained its position ,even claiming that the notching system was no longer a part of the Terms and Conditions of Service. Times of Eswatini (10th March 2023) reported and cited the UNESWA Registrar expressing the position of the University that over and above the foregoing technicalities there is no money for what the workers are asking for.

The students dynamic

The University perhaps in fear that students would join the lecturer’s strike action issued a memo on the 16th March 2023 closing the university and ordering students to vacate the premises. In response students, through Electoral Officer Gamedze have defiantly replied that they see no need to vacate the premises since they do not have any grievance with management. Infact, students have claimed that they  always wake up and head to lectures with the hope that their lecturers will pitch up.

Negotiations/Engagements to resolve the impasse

So far there are engagements that the parties continue to engage in to try and resolve the impasse however nothing concrete has come out of the engagements so far. The situation it all to speculation that perhaps management is digging into its heels and hoping that workers will eventually lose steam and return to work.

More updates on this matter will follow.


Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

NAPSAWU HAS SUSPENDED THREE NATIONAL OFFICE BEARERS

Written by Staff Reporter The National Public Service and Allied Workers Union (NAPSAWU) National General Council (NGC) ,on Thursday 15 th February 2024, suspended three of its National Office Bearers (NOBs), two of whom are believed to be principal officers. Principal Officers number up to three in trade unions and are the President, General Secretary and the Treasurer. The suspension of two of them may therefore demonstrate the seriousness of the matter just barely six months since the current NOBS took office in August 2023. The suspension of the trio is reported to have come after it had been discovered that they were one way or another involved in alleged misappropriation of undisclosed NAPSAWU funds believed to  amounting to more than one hundred thousand and seventy thousands (more than E170 000) emalangeni. The funds according to reliable sources are believed to have been approved funds for union activities but were later discovered to have been diverted into pers...
Post a Comment
Read more

The history of Swaziland Labour Law

1.    THE HISTRORY OF SWAZI LABOUR LAW – BY NATHI GUMEDE It is difficult to proceed with issues of individual and collective Swazi Labour law without outlining the key events in the history of the Swazi Labour Movement. Though by no means comprehensive and very accurate, here are some events that have shaped Swazi Labour Law. 1937 – Wages Determining Proclamation 1947 – Trade Union Dispute Proclamation No 31 of 1942 1960 – F.C. Catchpole Commission on Labour Relations Socialization reports absence of trade unions 1962 – Pulp and Timber Worker’s Union established with Pan-Africanist influence as the first trade union; the union called the first strike the same year 1963 - Second Strike of the Pulp and Timber Worker’s Union spread into a National Strike (66,000 man hours). The National strike led to the formation of the Swaziland Democratic party and the Swaziland Progressive Party. The strike was thwarted by the First Battalion of Gordon Highlands from Ken...
Post a Comment
Read more

OPINION: PRIME MINISTER RUSSELL DLAMINI VS AUDITOR GENERAL TIMOTHY MATSEBULA

  Eswatini Prime Minister Russell Dlamini (L) and Auditor General Timothy Matsebula (R) during their meeting in the cabinet offices in March 2024. (Picture courtesy of Eswatini government social media platform) Written by Fundizwi Sikhondze Prime Minister Russell Mmiso Dlamini on Thursday 6th June 2024 may have single-handedly plunged his government into its first major political crisis.  While fielding questions from the country's editors the Prime Minister was asked a question by  The Nation Magazine's Bheki Makhubu about  the audit reports from the Auditor General (AG) regarding his tenure as the Chief Executive Officer of the National Disaster Management Agency (NDMA). The audits had allegedly flagged unaccounted for expenditure of E180M worth of funds and lately there a report which questioned expenditure of E30M from the NDMA.     Prime Minister's reply left his audience of journalist and cabinet ministers gasping as perhaps none were ready for i...
Post a Comment
Read more