Times Of Swaziland: EMPLOY 5 000 PERMANENT TEACHERS OR NO SCHOOL - SNAT

EMPLOY 5 000 PERMANENT TEACHERS OR NO SCHOOL - SNAT
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Joseph Zulu on 14/01/2023 07:46:00


MBABANE – The Ministry of Public Service must employ 5 000 teachers on a
permanent basis, otherwise teachers will not return to school when they open.
This is one of the demands the teachers made in a petition that was delivered to
the Ministry of Public Service yesterday. They said should the government not
adhere to this, they would not be returning to work. The petition was presented
to the under secretary (US) in the ministry Richard Phungwayo by the Secretary
General (SG) of the Swaziland National Association of Teachers (SNAT),  Lot 
Vilakati, during the protest that was characterised by dancing and singing of
songs.
In the same petition, it was stated that ‘the minister should stop
intimidating teachers about the no-work, no-pay by using the radio when the
teachers exercised their rights’. Further, the petition stated that government
should stop hiring teachers on contract basis while soldiers, police officers
and warders were hired permanently. Also, the government should withdraw a
statement dated September 29, 2022, as it is against ILO and is tantamount to
union bashing.
Meanwhile, SNAT President Mbongwa Dlamini was not pleased that the principal
secretary (PS) in the Ministry of Public Service did not come out to receive the
petition though he was available. Initially, the US arrived to receive the
petition, but the protesters were not happy about this. They demanded to see the
PS instead. Dlamini said the PS’ failure to see them was a sign that the
government did not take them seriously. He said the PS was on leave yet he was
in his office, attending only to ‘important’ matters.
Petition
“If he is attending to important matters but does not want to see us, it means
we are not important,” he said. The petition was eventually handed to the US.
The National Public Service and Allied Workers Union (NAPSAWU) President Oscar
Nkambule was also one of the main speakers. He said NAPSAWU was in support of
the demands made by SNAT. “We are here as concerned parents,” he said.
He said NAPSAWU Was fully behind the demands by SNAT and that they understood
the plight of teachers. One of the temporary teachers, who were among the
protesters said life was very challenging for the teachers. He said there were
teachers who had been working on a temporary basis for 12 years and were still
not confirmed permanently. “This is unacceptable because the teacher would end
up reaching unemployable age,” he said. Further, SNAT also delivered a
petition to the Ministry of Education and Training. It was handed to the US by
SNAT SG.
He stated that one of the demands was that the government should pay up the
Orphaned and Vulnerable Children (OVC) as well as Free Primary Education (FPE)
grants. Also, SNAT wants the government to stop teachers from invigilating
during the examinations. He said whenever teachers invigilated, they ended up
being harassed. SNAT also wants the government to pay head teachers to monitor
examinations. Among their demands, they also included that head teachers who
have degrees should be paid accordingly and that the government must hire
teachers for grade zero.