NO WORK-NO PAY FOR TEACHERS - AG

 MBABANE – The doctrine of ‘no’-work-no-pay’ will apply to teachers who will absent themselves from work without any justification.

Attorney General (AG) Sifiso Mashampu Khumalo said when a person was employed, he or she was expected to perform the duties assigned to him or her and when the work was not done, that individual was not eligible for payment or remuneration.

He emphasised that the no-work-no pay doctrine was an international principle. The AG said an employer had a right to apply that principle where necessary.

“The doctrine of ‘no-work-no-pay’ is a fundamental axiom in industrial relations. The philosophy is very simple. When a person is employed, it is expected that the work assigned will be carried out. When this work is not done, the employee is not eligible for payment of any salary,” he said in an interview.

Khumalo also stated that in the event their client (Ministry of Education and Training) instructed them that teachers were on strike notwithstanding the court order stopping it, they would urgently approach the court for an order that they be found to be in contempt of court. He said as far as they were concerned, there was no strike action by teachers as there was a court order interdicting or stopping it.

“Teachers are advised to respect orders of the court as they will need the very same courts in future. They should not only respect court orders when they suit them,” said the attorney general.

He emphasised that there was a court order deferring the strike action by the teachers.
On Wednesday, during the extraordinary meeting, which was attended by over 5 000 members, the teachers are reported to have resolved to abide by the court ruling by calling off the intended strike action. The strike action was supposed to start on Tuesday and end today.

However, the teachers’ decision was clear that even though they had called off their proposed strike action, they would ensure that teaching and learning did not take place in schools around the country.

The teachers agreed to do this by attending a series of activities to be organised by their association on Tuesdays, Wednesdays and Thursdays. In their agreement, they said teachers, especially SNAT members, were only expected to go to their workplaces on Mondays and Fridays until government acceded to their demand for 6.5 per cent cost-of-living adjustment (CoLA) for 2018/2019 financial year.

Last Sunday, the Industrial Court ruled that although the intended strike action by teachers was lawful, it should be deferred to November 23, 2018 to give the new government time to deal with SNAT’s demands.
Judge Dumisani Mazibuko further ordered that in the event the teachers decided to strike after November 23, they are expected to give new notices.

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