SELLOUTS SNUBBING STRIKE ACTION - PSAS

MBABANE – “Those not heeding to our calls are sellouts!”

In utter disgust and in no mood to sugar-coat any acts deviant of what was agreed upon by public sector associations (PSAs) leading to their nationwide strike action, their leaders have referred to those members who have snubbed the strike action  as sellouts. There are over 44 000 members of the civil service. The leaders of the PSAs, which are currently advancing the call for government to offer a 7.85 per cent cost-of-living adjustment (CoLA), yesterday in no uncertain terms expressed dismay to two acts by public servants. The PSAs are the Swaziland National Association of Teachers (SNAT), the Swaziland National Association of Government Accounting Personnel (SNAGAP), the Swaziland Nurses Association (SNA) which is also known as the Swaziland Democratic Nurses Union (SWADNU) and the National Public Service and Allied Workers Union (NAPSAWU). SWADNU is currently not partaking in the industrial protest action as they fall under the essential services.

Disappointed

The unionists said they were disappointed in those who were at work despite voting for the strike. Those at their workplaces have been coerced to fill the spot check forms. The spot check forms have been described by government as an instrument used to monitor the attendance of civil servants at their various workstations. These forms have been distributed to the various ministries following the high number of activities organised by PSAs. Following this development, the PSAs leaders said they would devise a strategy to deal with ‘traitors’. According to the leaders, the betrayal of not heeding to the call made by the majority of their organisations’ members started on Monday – which marked day one of the mass protest action.

On this day, the civil servants marched to the regional education office (REO), regional administrator and Royal Eswatini Police Service (REPS) to get responses to petitions that they delivered to these government entities a fortnight ago. Fewer members, particularly in Mbabane, turned out for the march but the belief was that most of them could not make it to the march because they had no money for transport.

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