GOVT REJECTS PSAS COLA PROPOSAL AGAIN

MANZINI – Rejected!

The flat rate of the cost-of-living adjustment (CoLA) proposed by public sector associations (PSAs), was rejected by the government negotiations team (GNT). The proposal, that would have seen all civil servants benefitting the same amount of about E440 per worker, was yesterday rejected during the joint negotiation forum (JNF). This is the third rejection of proposals tabled by the representatives of the civil servants. In the initial proposal by the PSAs, they had sought that the least paid public service worker should get a higher percentage, while the highest paid employee got the minimal increment. After this formula was rejected, the PSAs came up with an alternative wherein they (PSAs) wanted to share equally the E227 million allocation for CoLA. This proposal was rejected by government yesterday. According to the Secretary General of the Swaziland National Association of Teachers (SNAT), Sikelela Dlamini, the GNT reported that Cabinet was only interested in three per cent CoLA across the board.

Rejected

“On a solemn note, we’re upset by the tenacious posture taken by government on the issue of CoLA as we’ve now reverted to the initial stance which our members heartily rejected, for obvious reasons. For the first time though, government conceded the fact that civil servants had a 19 per cent corrosion in their respective salaries since 2016,” Dlamini said. He said since the agenda on CoLA began, PSAs had presented three proposals which government disregarded, without any economic data substantiating their position. Worth noting is that public servants last received a cushion on their salaries in 2016 from the salary review exercise which was a recommendation by LCC Capital. Dlamini further said the delay in negotiations derailed progress on the preparations for the 2021 Salary Review as contained in the  July 6, 2016 collective agreement (CA) which was made an order of the court.

“We couldn’t be swayed into what the GNT offered today as our members soundly rejected the three per cent offer which Cabinet wants to force down our throats as it favours them,” he said. Following the developments of the JNF yesterday, Dlamini said PSAs would engage their members and forge a way forward. He said they would soon issue a formal communication on how they could meet with their members since from Saturday (July 19, 2020), gatherings of 100 people shall be permitted, thus the possibility of calling a general council. “What saddens us is that they (government) did not bring a counter-offer to what we had submitted; so we shall consult our members as PSAs to see what we need to table when we meet next,” he said.

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