UNIONS CALL MEETING FOR COLA

MANZINI – Hardly a week into the new year, PSAs are beginning their mission to demand a cost-of-living adjustment (CoLA) from government.

The national executive committee (NEC) of the four unions, which form public sector associations (PSAs), has since called a general council (GC) meeting to discuss a way forward regarding the issue of CoLA.

According to the statement which was released by the Swaziland National Association of Teachers (SNAT) Secretary General, Sikelela Dlamini, as PSAs NEC, they were inviting all members of the GC to a joint meeting which would be held at SNAT Centre on Friday. He said the meeting would start at 9:30am. He said the items on the agenda would include a discussion about their strike which took place last year, between September 23 and October 2. This strike action was for the CoLA for 2017/19, which was 7.85 per cent.

“We will also discuss the issue of CoLA for 2018/19 as the Conciliation, Mediation and Arbitration Commission (CMAC) had issued a certificate of unresolved dispute,” Dlamini said.

In this matter, he said their demand was at 6.55 per cent and the GC members were expected to come up with a way forward. The unions that form part of PSAs are SNAT, National Public Service and Allied Workers Union (NAPSAWU), Swaziland Democratic Nurses Union (SWADNU) and Swaziland National Association of Government Accounting Personnel (SNAGAP).

Demanded

Civil servants in the country last got CoLA in the 2016/17 financial year and this was when a salary review was done. In 2017/18 and 2018/19 they demanded 7.85 per cent and 6.55 per cent respectively. However, on the other hand, government offered them zero per cent and CMAC issued a certificate of unresolved dispute.

In the current year, PSAs vowed to table a demand of 5.5 per cent CoLA but they have not got that chance yet as the issue of CoLA has not been discussed at the round table. In fact, government asked that they should discuss issues that did not have financial implications.

These developments come at a time when the Minister of Finance, Neal Rijkenberg, when delivering his maiden speech, said CoLA was the most contentious economic issue in the country at this moment and he was compelled to address it.

He said the growing wage bill was placing insurmountable pressure on the budget and government had been under immense strain to pay salaries due to the cash flow crisis. He said despite the current hiring freeze, wages and pensions, expenditure would increase from E8.2 billion in 2018/19 to E8.5 billion in 2019/20. Given the state of the economy, the minister said it was not prudent or possible to budget for CoLA in 2019/20 as the country simply could not afford it.

He then appealed to the public service associations and its members to appreciate the current financial strain and to join them in actively addressing these challenges

Meanwhile, prior to the budget speech, Prime Minister (PM) Ambrose Dlamini offered PSAs a minimum of three per cent as CoLA. However, he said this increment, which he guaranteed as a minimum offer, could be more depending on how the economy performs in the next 14 months, paid with effect from April 2020/21.

Post your comment

Your name:

Your e-mail address:

Add your comments:

Please enter the code you see in the image:

Image:

Code: