CIVIL SERVANTS TO MARCH IN 8 TOWNS

SITEKI – Total shutdown! Civil servants have vowed to shut down all major towns and cities next Monday and further bring all government operations to a complete halt.

This will be during the nationwide strike whereby public sector associations (PSAs) are demanding 6.55 per cent cost-of-living-adjustment (CoLa).
During a joint meeting of the PSAs in Siteki yesterday, Mbongwa Dlamini, President of the Swaziland National Association of Teachers (SNAT), pronounced that demonstrations would not take place in one place, as it had been the case in previous strikes.

Demonstrations

Instead, he said there would be demonstrations in the major cities of Mbabane, Manzini, Nhlangano, Siteki, Pigg’s Peak, Mankayane, Hlathikhulu and Madlangempisi.

“This is a war comrades, and in a battle we have to apply certain strategies. One of them is to monitor the movements of the enemy,” he stated while flanked by representatives of the other unions.

He urged all civil servants to participate in the demonstration so as to force government to give in to their demands.
He said civil servants had not received CoLA for two years, while government was prioritising other projects.

He further denounced the decision by government to pay the gratuity of former politicians while offering zero per cent to civil servants.
“Let’s go out there and show our anger. We have been too soft. I’m not implying that we should be violent but we should apply pressure to the employer,” said Dlamini.

He mentioned that yesterday, union executives were busy liaising with municipalities with regard to procedures which needed to be followed in order for workers to be granted permission to march on the streets.

Meanwhile, some workers wanted to know if the strike would last for one day or would be indefinite.
In response, Dlamini opted not to reveal their strategies.

Instead, he said they wanted to surprise the employer (government) and hit it hard so that it could be pressured to give in to the workers’ demands.
On another note, government accountants vowed during the meeting to shut down all Rvenue offices and other government accounting offices.
Dumile Dlamini, Secretary General of the Swaziland National Association of Government Accounting Personnel, said no government Revenue offices would be operating next Monday.

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