Saturday the 8th of April 2023 marked a full month since the Association of Lecturers Academic and Administrative Personnel (ALAAP) engaged in a protected strike action at the University of Swaziland (UNESWA). Twelve days later and on the 20th March 2023 that workers organised by the National Workers Union of Swaziland Higher Institutions (NAWUSHI) joined their ALAAP counterparts in the strike action. UNESWA operations have been grounded since then.
As their name suggests the ALAAP represents lecturers, academic and senior administrative workers at UNESWA while NAWUSHI represents all non academic workers in all sections of the university.
The common grievance of ALAAP and NAWUSHI is the fact that UNESWA has not been effecting notch increases to the salaries of workers for more than five years now and workers are demanding that they adjust their notches dating back to year 2021. The employer (UNESWA) has publicly raised two objections to the demands by workers in interviews they have carried out in the electronic as well as media in the country. The first one was that the notch increases that were being demanded by workers were not automatic and therefore the workers had no automatic claim to them. Secondly they raised that in any case they do not have sufficient funds by which to pay these notch increases workers are demanding even if there could be agreement to effect them.
The issue of automatic notch increases or not can be deemed as a technical argument driven by the fact that UNESWA moved from a notch payment system (where each pay level had around 8 levels or notches) from around year 2009 to its current payment system commonly called Patterson Payment System. The argument suggesting that the notch increases are not automatic may stem from the argument that without carrying out performance mechanisms such increases cannot be made under the Patterson Payment System. However in response it may also be argued that it is the employer who bears the responsibility to operationalise performance measurement systems and if they fail to do so workers should not be prejudiced with lack of movements. In the sum total of things ,it can be argued that without the performance measurement systems in place all workers ought to be regarded to have performed adequately to progress to the next notch, if they so qualify and have not reached the last level or notch.
Failure of mediation attempts
So far meetings of the three parties (Employer and the two unions) that have taken place even after the strike action commenced have not broken the deadlock. This might have prompted the UNESWA management to seek outside assistance in ending the strike action.
On the 4th April ,the UNESWA Registrar sent correspondence to the Conciliation ,Mediation and Arbitration Commission (CMAC) seeking their mediation services in the wage dispute. However on the 5th April 2023 ALAAP and NAWUSHI jointly responded to Dr Simelane's correspondence by distancing themselves from the initiated mediation efforts, adding that under the circumstances they would not attend the proposed mediation.
The unions pointed out that the mediation might be premature at this stage because in their perspective internal processes have not been exhausted to resolve the dispute. They specifically referred to a meeting that had been held on the 23rd March 2023 where UNESWA Management had been requested to go to renew the mandate from the University council. In their joint correspondence the unions alleged that ,they (the unions) have not heard back from management since 23 March 2023. Secondly the unions felt that even if council were to find difficulty acceding to the workers demands there was still the office of the Chancellor of the University who happens to be the head of state King Mswati III that the council would have to go to before internal processes can be said to be fully exhausted.
Mediation in labour disputes may be carried out by the CMAC or under special circumstances through the Labour Advisory Board (LAB) where the Minister of Labour has deemed national interests to be at stake because of the strike action. The CMAC is empowered by Section 64 (3) to provide deadlock breaking mechanisms for employers and employees.
As the new weeks sets out it would be interesting to see whether this dispute can be resolved without mediation given that the dispute has already disrupted the academic programme at UNESWA for three weeks because from 15th March 2023 students were effectively sent home as a result of the dispute by the University Senate.
Perhaps its time to give mediation a chance
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