NO-WORK, NO-PAY IN SNUS PRESIDENT MARCH

MANZINI - The no-work, no-pay rule will be effected on civil servants who will be partaking in the petition delivery calling for the release of Colani Maseko.

Maseko is the President of the Swaziland National Union of Students (SNUS) and is also a student at the Southern Africa Nazarene University (SANU). He was arrested on Monday and charged with sedition and two counts of malicious damage of property. Today, SNUS and the Trade Union Congress of Swaziland (TUCOSWA) will march, demanding his release. TUCOSWA called its affiliates, who among them are public sector associations (PSAs), to partake in the petition delivery to the Manzini Police Regional Headquarters (RHQ). In light of this, Principal Secretary in the Ministry of Public Service Sipho Tsabedze, said the issue of no-work, no-pay, was not even worth considering as it was certain it would happen.

“No person has to be paid for doing nothing. Whatever amount civil servants earn is for what they have done as part of their job description,” Tsabedze said. He said this when asked if any request had been advanced to his ministry by the PSAs to partake in the march. Tsabedze said civil servants were expected at work and those who would be absent, would not be paid for the day they had missed. Secretary General of the Swaziland National Association of Teachers (SNAT) Sikelela Dlamini said: “We are ready for that. We are moving forward and we are determined. This is our country and therefore it is ourselves who are to correct it.” Secretary General of the Swaziland Democratic Nurses Union (SWADNU) Mayibongwe Masangane said: “Members, as part of society, must participate, because we believe that what is happening in the country is not good and it must be condemned with all the contempt it deserves.”

Affiliate

Masangane said this was just a ploy to discourage civil servants from supporting the students. He said they would be part of the march as an affiliate of TUCOSWA. “As well as on our own as a union, we believe in justice and all the freedoms that one must enjoy.” The back and forth between government and civil servants is not new, as last year October, Minister of Public Service Mabulala Maseko made it clear that government would apply the no-work, no-pay rule and further take disciplinary action against civil servants who would participate in a march that was organized by TUCOSWA. Also, it is worth noting that recently, government said some civil servants had shifted their focus from being apolitical and were focusing on political issues.

The principal secretary in the Ministry of Public Service said this when responding to a question on what was motivating the need for government (employer) in the letter served to invite SNAT to a bilateral meeting wherein the review of the current recognition agreement was on the agenda. The review of the current recognition agreement was said to be with a view to align it with contemporary labour laws and practices. Also, in the agenda was the participation and involvement of public officers in political activities. Tsabedze said the terms and conditions of service for civil servants did not allow them to participate in political issues. He said civil servants were supposed to be apolitical because they were servants of the public and were supposed to provide services to everyone, irrespective of their clients’ political affiliation and beliefs.

This, Tsabedze said, was contained in the Government General Orders, the Public Service Act of 2018 and the International Public Service Charter. He said the labour laws of the land did not allow unions to be involved in purely political issues. “The issue of reviewing the recognition agreements is a normal thing as it is enshrined in the recognition agreements themselves and best practice. This is necessitated by developments in laws and other issues that arise within the employment arena,” Tsabedze said. He said the allegations of union bashing were unfounded and baseless and instead, the PS said the employer was seeking to do what was supposed to be done on these issues.

Freedom

Worth noting is that Chapter III of the Constitution of Eswatini under Section 25 states among other things that a person has the freedom of conscience, of expression and of peaceful assembly and association and of movement. Furthermore, Tsabedze said the purpose of trade unions was to protect the interests of workers on bread and butter issues relating to their employment and other socio-economic issues. His response was subsequent to claims made by SNAT, wherein it was said the review of the current recognition agreement between government and their union was set to silence them. The secretary general of SNAT said reviewing the recognition agreement had no challenges; however, their suspicions were that the upcoming meeting was aimed at limiting their participation as union members in the country’s politics.

Dlamini said they were of the view that the objective of the meeting was targeting civil servants not to be seen attending political party events. When questioned on what the Government General Orders say about political activities of officers, he said: “As SNAT members, we don’t attend them as teachers, but as members of the society affected by the pertinent issues that are discussed.” Dlamini said they would consult other international organisations on this as they were concerned about being deprived of partaking in political activities. Rhetorically, he asked: “Does it mean the moment you become a civil servant you then cease to be a member of society? If the two cannot be divorced, is government calling us an employer or the administration?”

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