Times Of Swaziland: Govt de-registers TUCOSWA

Govt de-registers TUCOSWA
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 ZWELAKHE MOAHLOLI on 07/04/2012 00:00:00


MANZINI – The Trade Union Congress of Swaziland (TUCOSWA) has been
de-registered by government in a move widely seen as an attempt to silence the
organisation ahead of its planned April 12 protest action.
Swazi News can reveal that the trade union was de-registered on Monday. TUCOSWA
was born out of the amalgamation of the then Swaziland Federation of Labour
(SFL) and the Swaziland Federation of Trade Unions (SFTU) and subse-quently
joined by the Swaziland Na-tional Associa-tion of Teachers (SNAT).
According to documents in our posse-ssion, the Attorney General (AG) advised the
Commissioner of Labour that TUCOSWA was impro-perly registered. This is further
confirmed in a letter dated April 2, 2012, written by the AG, Majahenkaba
Dlamini which was addressed to the secretary general of the organisation.
The AG in the letter stated that it had come to his attention that the
Commissioner of Labour registered the Trade Union Congress of Swaziland as a
federation under Sec-tion 27 of the Indus-trial Relations Act, 2000. "Be advised
that a proper reading of Sec-tion 27 and 29 of the Industrial Act reveals that
your entity/federation was erroneously registered by reason that the provisions
relate only to registration of organisations," he stated.
Dlamini further explains that in terms of Section 2 which was the interpretation
section of the Act, ‘organisation’ was defined to mean ‘a trade union,
staff association or employers association in good standing as the context may
require.
"This means therefore, that Section 27 even by any stretch of imagination cannot
accommodate the registration of federations but only registration of
organisations. The Trade Union Congress of Swaziland not being an organisation
in terms of the Act cannot therefore be registered under Section 27 as an
organisation which it is not," elaborated the AG in his letter.
TUCOSWA First Deputy Secretary General Mduduzi Gina said this observation by the
government was a total somersault as the defunct national centres were
registered in terms of the Industrial Relations Act and that all the business
federations, the Federation of Swaziland Employers and Chamber of Commerce
(FSE&CC) and Fe-deration of Swaziland Business Community (FESBC) were
regis-tered under the same Act.
Gina also pointed out that another contradiction, was that upon registration
government welcomed and congratulated TUCOSWA for its formation as per a letter
written by the Minister of Labour and Social Security, Lutfo Dlamini. The
minister is said to have written the letter on March 16, 2012. In the letter,
the minister states that the formation of TUCOSWA was a positive develop-ment
and advacement of the union movement, chiefly because it was easy to work with a
united front as opposed to a fragmented workforce.
Dlamini urged the organisation to be united, and come up with strategies and
ideas that will promote employ-ment creation, decent work, effective social
dialogue and extension of social security coverage in the world of work. He
pointed out that the end result of the current position was that there was no
national centre now recog-nised by the Government of Swazi-land and all
tripartite structures had come to a halt.
When asked to comment on the latest development Government Press Secretary,
Percy Simelane said, "For this one we will play our cards close to our chest and
cross every bridge when we come to them,"
De-registered for 2013 boycott statement
MANZINI – It may seem the federation has been ‘banned’ for its statement
in the media that it will destabilise the national elections, next year.
During its Founding Congress held on March 9 to March 11 at Esibayeni Lodge,
TUCOSWA took the resolution to cause for a total boycott of the natonal
elections.
The resolution reads: "the current system of governance in Swaziland is one that
is undemocratic, repressive and dictatorial and that the federation, shall cause
for a total boycott of the national elections in 2013 unless the elections are
held under a multiparty system".
Following the media publication of this resolution, on March 16, 2012 the
Commissioner of Labour wrote to the federation and demanded confir-mation or
otherwise of the said resolution. In her letter to TUCOSWA, the acting
Commissioner of Labour Khabo Dlamini described resolution as taking a ‘purely
political’ stance on the issues affecting the federation, much against the
provisions of the Industrial Relations Act, 2000.
Part of her letter read: "Our understanding is that TUCOSWA is regstered as a
Worker Federation and its objectives would be in line with the ideals expressed
in clauses 1 and 3 of the Resolution of 1952 concerning the independence of the
trade union movement and the Industral Relations Act, 2000 (as amended). The
clause clearly demonstrates that the core and fundamental mission of a trade
union is economic and social advancement of its members.
"The Commissioner of Labour wishes to express her shock and dismay at the sudden
change of the objectives for which TUCOSWA was registered. We view this as a
serious mispresentation of facts, which were material and influenced the
commissioner in granting registration of the federation."
She gave the federation seven days to respond. TUCOSWA’s Mduduzi Gina
explained that on April 5 they were supposed to meet with the commissioner to
discuss the matter. However, to their surprise, Gina said they received a letter
from the AG informing them of his advice to the commissioner of the
de-registration of the federation.