Times Of Swaziland: PS: NO-WORK, NO-PAY  DEDUCTIONS NEXT MONTH

PS: NO-WORK, NO-PAY  DEDUCTIONS NEXT MONTH
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Sithembile Hlatshwayo on 20/01/2023 09:54:00


MBABANE – Civil servants who absented themselves during the two-day protest
action by public transport workers might have escaped the no-work, no-pay
deductions this month but it will definitely be effected next month.
This was confirmed by the Principal Secretary (PS) in the Ministry of Public
Service, Sipho Tsabedze. Tsabedze said more or less 500 civil servants would be
affected by the no-work, no-pay. He stated that they failed to effect the
deductions this month due to the early payment, as the deduction processes were
cumbersome.
When told that civil servants had threatened to take government to court should
the deductions be effected on their salaries, Tsabedze said it was their right
to go to court. He wondered what case the civil servants had because they indeed
absented themselves from work. “You cannot demand money you have not worked
for, it does not make sense,” said the PS.
Meanwhile, National Public Service and Allied Workers Union (NAPSAWU) President
Oscar Nkambule, said it was actually criminal for government to make the
deductions.  “You cannot deduct employees’ salaries because you want to
expose them to danger,” said Nkambule. He said they would definitely challenge
government in court, should it effect the deductions.
Nkambule said there was a sense of danger during the two-day protest action,
adding that, past experience had taught them, as some workers were shot while
they were on their way to or from work. This, he said, happened despite that the
employees had been guaranteed protection. The president also argued that the
employees could not reach their workplaces during the two-day protest action as
there was no public transport available. “How was it then possible for the
workers to go to work as they relied on the public transport?” Nkambule
questioned. He also noted that government had provided buses in the absence of
public transport, but it did not work for the employees.
Furthermore, he said government workers were not well-remunerated and effecting
deductions meant that they would take nothing home. He challenged the heads of
department (HODs) in government offices to include themselves on the list of
absentees, adding that they should also be the first whose salaries should be
deducted. Nkambule said the HODs were also absent and there was no one in the
offices.