2016 REVIEW APPEALS: HOPE FOR CIVIL SERVANTS

MANZINI – Not all is lost for civil servants on their appeals for the 2016 salary review.

The Principal Secretary in the Ministry of Public Service, Sipho Tsabedze, said the Management Services Division (MSD), which is a government department that also acted as a consultant on the 2016 salary review appeals, the Government Negotiation Team (GNT) and public sector unions, would meet regarding the appeals. Tsabedze said the meeting, which shall not be a negotiation but a consultation, was requested by the Public Sector Unions (PSUs) of Swaziland following the presentation of the 2016 salary review appeals report. He said the PSUs requested to engage in bilateral consultations with the consultant (MSD) and the GNT was hoping that after the engagement, they would let the consultant understand any of their concerns and ‘if need be, factor in any changes’. However, the PS said subsequent to the bilateral meetings with the four PSUs, the latter requested a meeting with both parties. Tsabedze said while the meeting was pending, the GNT observed that government’s financial year would lapse and as such, they implemented the recommendations of the 2016 salary review appeals report.

The PS said any delays would have resulted in the employer losing the funding which was provisioned for in the 2022/23 national budget. The budget set for the 2016 salary review appeals was E65 million. In light of the pending meeting, Tsabedze said: “If the consultant will hear their arguments and note that certain changes need to be implemented, it shall be so. However, it is critical that we highlight that there is no budget for (2016 salary review) appeals in this financial year.” The PS said should there be a need for certain alterations; the GNT would have to seek guidance from the employer on how to finance them. Tsabedze emphasised that the meeting between the MSD, PSUs and GNT would not be a negotiation but a consultation. His response was subsequent to challenges raised by the PSUs regarding the implementation of the 2016 salary review appeals report without them (unions) endorsing a collective agreement. The Secretary General of the Swaziland National Association of Teachers (SNAT), Lot Vilakati, said they (PSUs) were concerned about what the invitation to a sitting of the joint negotiation forum (JNF) would yield as the 2016 salary review appeals had already been implemented.

He said instead of consenting to the contents of the report, they engaged the GNT that they wanted clarity on certain issues and while they were waiting for the said meeting, they heard from members that money had been deposited into their accounts as remuneration for the month of March and also the grades difference from the appeals had been backdated to April 1, 2022. “We received the circular after implementation,” he said. Vilakati said they were informed to engage in bilateral meetings. He said the PSUs did not want the recommendations of the appeals report to be backdated to April 2022; but 2016.  The meeting between the GNT, MSD and PSUs was scheduled for today, however, it has since been postponed to next week as the GNT will not be available.

Alllocated

To this, the chairperson of the GNT said the Constitution of Eswatini No. 001 of 2005 was very clear on the issue of government’s expenditure. Tsabedze said the Constitution stated that government could not spend what was not allocated to it. He said: “The Constitution states that you don’t spend what Parliament has not allocated. So, if there was no money to pay for the appeals to 2016, we could not do anything.” Tsabedze further reiterated that there was a need to implement the appeals report because the allocated budget would have been forfeited to government. He said government also had the power to divert a budget to issues of national interest and an example was the diversion of the E85 million, which was allocated for the appeals in the 2020/21 financial year. The money was diverted to deal with the coronavirus pandemic and in the subsequent year, the provision set for the appeals was E20 million less.
Meanwhile, the PS said under normal circumstances, the back-pay could have been backdated to 2016; however, the legal framework stated otherwise. On the other hand, yesterday this publication reported that for some civil servants being wrongly graded came at a cost in excess of E700 000. This followed that last week, government reimbursed 1 600 public service employees for being wrongly graded in 2016. The civil servants were awarded new grades for their remuneration and had a back-pay, which was backdated to April 1, 2022.

However, the difference between the backpay and the money the public employees should have been earning since 2016 is huge. The remuneration structure of the deputy director in the Social Welfare Department, under the office of the Deputy Prime Minister (DPM) was reviewed from D5 to E4. It was re-graded due to the scope of work, job content and supervisory function, while that of the coordinator of in-service training under the Teaching Service Commission (TSC) was an effort to correct the reporting relationship with heads of departments (HoDs). In the four years (April 1, 2016 – March 31, 2022), the deputy director earned E20 786.83 before tax under grade D5 Notch 1 instead of E33 813.42 under grade E4 Notch 1.
The difference between the two grades was E13 026.58 and in the four years, the civil servant had a shortfall approximated to exceed E625 276.16. There is also an additional E 161 008.92, which emanates from the difference between the two grades. The above difference was derived from the implementation of three per cent cost-of-living adjustment (CoLA) in 2021 which resulted in grade D5 earning a monthly salary of E21 410.42 while grade E4 increased to E34 827.83. This equates a monthly difference of E 13 417.41 between the two grades. Furthermore, in 2022 another three per cent CoLA was implemented, which reviewed grade D5 to E22 052.73, while grade E4 increased to a monthly salary of E35 872.67.

Difference

The difference between the two grades is E13 819.94. However, government issued Establishment Circular No.1 of 2023; Implementation of the Salary Review Appeals Exercise. It stated that they should be paid the difference of the salary as of April 1, 2022. This equated 11 months and officers, who grades were reviewed from D5 to E4, received E152 019.34 as backpay. This increases the amount the civil servants in this grade missed-out on over E 786 285.08 in the said years. Meanwhile, the implementation of Establishment Circular No. 3 of 2023 was said to have marked the end of the appeals process and as such, the current salary structure would be addressed through the normal submission for a grading of a new post or a regrading of an already existing post. The PS said further issues arising from the current salary structure would be addressed through the normal submission for a grading of a new post or regrading of an already existing post based on extended scope of work and or through the next salary review exercise. Tsabedze, in an official communication, said following the issuance of Establishment Circular Number 1 of 2016 on the implementation of the Salary Review Exercise during the financial year 2016/17, the JNT agreed to engage the MSD as an internal consultant for government to deal with the appeals arising from this circular.

He said the MSD team was, among other things, commissioned to consider the appeals, prepare a report and submit the recommendations to the JNF. The JNF which constitute of the GNT and PSUs discussed the report and those discussions resulted in the issuance of the Establishment Circular No.1 of 2023; Implementation of the Salary Review Appeals Exercise.
Tsabedze said while every effort was made for the circular to cover all matters that could arise from its implementation, it was accepted that errors and omissions may occur. He said PSs and HoDs were requested to ensure that any omissions, errors and anomalies that may be noted in respect of salary grades or notches, or in any of the adjusted allowances that were a percentage of basic salary were reported to his office.

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