Eswatini Labour Insight

UNESWA workers in previous protests (courtesy picture) Written by Fundizwi Sikhondze University of Eswatini workers ,comprising of academic, administrative and non academic have embarked on a series of protest actions meant to elicit more commitments from the management of UNESWA that going forward wages will be paid without delays amongst others. On Monday 26th February 2024 academic and administrative workers under the banner of the Association for Academic and Administrative Personnel (ALAAP) delivered a petition to parliament to coincide with the reading of the national budget by Minister Neal Rekjernberg. On Wednesday 28th February 2024 UNESWA workers who are members of the the National Workers Union in Swaziland Higher Institutions (NAWUSHI) delivered a petition (a copy of which the ELI is in possession of) to the Management of UNESWA. In their petition they brought it to UNESWA Managements attention that firstly they viewed the recurrent delays in the payment of salaries as a br...

                                                                                     Finance Minister Neal Rikjernberg delivering the 2024/25 budget in the Eswatini Parliament at Lobamba (picture sourced from Eswatini Government social media platforms) In recent times one of the most topical news has been the never ending financial sagas faced by public service institutions such as the University of Eswatini (UNESWA) ,the Southern African Nazarene University (SANU) the Raleigh Fitkin Memorial Hospital (Nazarene)  and several others.  UNESWA also faces a collapsing infrastructure from years of neglect due to unavailability of funds to repair and maintain the infrastructure. The budget as read by Minister Neal Rikjernberg on the...

The Conciliation, Mediation and Arbitration Commission (CMAC) will host their flagship gathering ,the Annual Labour Law Seminar on 21st - 22 March 2024. The venue where the seminar will be hosted will be the  Happy Valley Hotel in Ezulwini. The CMAC is a public organisation created to fast track the resolution of labour disputes through conciliation and mediation. According to the CMAC website the seminar the theme of the seminar will be called "Enhancing harmony in the workplace". In a report in the Times of Eswatini on 20th February 2024 it was reported that the topics of the seminar will be as follows: 1. The impact of minimum terms and conditions of employment  towards the decent work agenda 2. The impact of the Public Enterprises Unit (PEU) Act on public sector collective bargaining: Does the IRA guarantee bargaining for public enterprises? 3. Intricacies of freedom of association and the right to organise right/strike. 4.Social Security of workers in employers liquidati...

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...

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  Picture sourced from the internet Written by Fundizwi Sikhondze On 11 th July 2023 Eswatini absolute ruler King Mswati III conducted the end of term address for the 12 th parliament of the country at his residence in Lobamba. As usual for this gathering dubbed Sibaya and that takes place at the kings residence at Lobamba Citizens are being bussed from across the country, dignitaries and heads of foreign missions are also invited to attend. In this session the king started off by conducting a brief overview of the ending term of office of the government , announced the end of the parliamentary term of office. The King concluded by announcing that after the conclusion of the parliamentary elections he will convene another similar national gathering (Sibaya) where every citizen will be able to express themselves freely about the future of the country. The announcement predictably was met with mixed feelings and immediately split the country’s body politic into two blocs of pro...

NAPSAWU and ESWACA emblems (sourced from the respective websites)  Written by Fundizwi Sikhondze (Publisher)  The Times of Eswatini (TOE) on 15th December 2023 reported that  the Industrial Court of Eswatini has dismissed an application by the Eswatini Civil Aviation Authority (ESWACA) aviation security officers (workers) to have their salaries adjusted beyond class 2 salary range. Through their trade union the National Public Service and Allied Workers Union (NAPSAWU) the workers had approached the industrial court in a bid to force the ESWACA to  increase their salaries from class 2 to class 1. To argue their case the workers cited the ESWACA's Advancement and Promotions Procedure as well as the National Civil Aviation Security Training Programme (NCASTP). In accordance with these policies ESWACA security officers had to undergo aviation screener licence* renewal every 24 months. In order to renew the screener licences every two years they had to undergo training ...